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[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians."
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
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what else was interesting in conjuring?
| 2 |
what else was interesting in 1992 book Conjuring, besides being a biographical history of noted magicians?
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James Randi
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Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.
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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
| false |
[
"Sydney Wrangel Clarke (1864 - 1940) was a British lawyer and magic historian.\n\nHe is most well known for his book The Annals of Conjuring. It was originally published in the Magic Wand magazine (1924-1928). Four book copies were printed in 1929, making original copies excessively rare. It was reprinted in 1983 and 2001.\n\nHe was the chairman of the council for The Magic Circle, a position he held until 1935.\n\nPublications\n\nThe Bibliography of Conjuring and Kindred Deceptions (1920)\nThe Annals of Conjuring (1929, 1983, 2001)\n\nReferences\n\n1864 births\n1940 deaths\nBritish lawyers\nHistorians of magic\nPlace of birth missing\n20th-century British writers",
"Annabelle is an allegedly haunted Raggedy Ann doll, housed in the (now closed) occult museum of the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Annabelle was moved there after supposed hauntings in 1970. A character based on the doll is one of the antagonists that appears in the Conjuring Universe.\n\nBackground \nAccording to the Warrens, a student nurse was given the doll in 1970. They said that the doll behaved strangely, and that a psychic medium told the student that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a deceased girl named \"Annabelle\". The student and her roommate tried to accept and nurture the spirit-possessed doll, but the doll reportedly exhibited malicious and frightening behavior. It was at this point that the Warrens say they were first contacted, moving the doll to their museum after pronouncing it demonically possessed. The doll remained in a glass box at The Warrens' Occult Museum in Monroe, Connecticut until the museum's closing.\n\nTexas State University assistant professor of religious studies Joseph Laycock says most skeptics have dismissed the Warrens' museum as \"full of off-the-shelf Halloween junk, dolls and toys, books you could buy at any bookstore\". Laycock calls the Annabelle legend an \"interesting case study in the relationship between pop culture and paranormal folklore\" and speculates that the demonic doll trope popularized by films such as Child's Play, Dolly Dearest, and The Conjuring likely emerged from early legends surrounding Robert the Doll, as well as from a Twilight Zone episode released five years prior to the Warrens' story, entitled \"Living Doll\", in which the character of the mother is named Annabelle. Laycock suggests that \"the idea of demonically possessed dolls allows modern demonologists to find supernatural evil in the most banal and domestic of places.\"\n\nCommenting on publicity for the Warrens' occult museum coinciding with the film release of The Conjuring, science writer Sharon A. Hill said that many of the myths and legends surrounding the Warrens have \"seemingly been of their own doing\" and that many people may have difficulty \"separating the Warrens from their Hollywood portrayal\". Hill criticized sensational press coverage of the Warrens' occult museum and its Annabelle doll. She said, \"Like real-life Ed Warren, real-life Annabelle is actually far less impressive.\" Of the supernatural claims made about Annabelle by Ed Warren, Hill said, \"We have nothing but Ed's word for this, and also for the history and origins of the objects in the museum.\"\n\nThe doll was also described in Gerald Brittle's 1980 biography of the Warrens, The Demonologist.\n\nCharacter \nThe Warrens' story of the doll served as inspiration for the Annabelle doll character depicted in The Conjuring Universe, a film series that includes the following: Annabelle (2014), Annabelle: Creation (2017), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). The producers did not use the likeness of Raggedy Ann, partially due to potential trademark issues and partially to make the doll's appearance more unsettling for a horror film; its appearance has been described as a \"terrifying porcelain doll that is disfigured and immediately menacing\". The character additionally makes brief appearances in James Wan The Conjuring 2 (2016) and Michael Chaves's The Curse of La Llorona (2019) and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021), as well as in the DC Extended Universe films Aquaman (2018) and Shazam! (2019), respectively directed by Wan and Annabelle: Creation director David F. Sandberg.\n\nSee also \nRobert (doll)\n\nReferences \n\n1970s toys\nHaunted dolls\n1970 introductions\nConnecticut folklore\nSupernatural legends\nThe Conjuring Universe"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks."
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
|
what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?
| 3 |
what was the most famous magic mentioned in the book Conjuring by James Randi?
|
James Randi
|
Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
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| false |
[
"The Trenchcoat Brigade is a four-issue comic book limited series that was published in 1999 as a part of DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, featuring several mystic DC Universe characters.\n\nThe title references an offhand joke used by John Constantine in the earlier Books of Magic series to label a loose affiliation of mystics including himself, Phantom Stranger, Doctor Occult, and Mister E who share a preference for trenchcoats as their outdoor wear (Constantine was knowingly paraphrasing the title of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's famous \"The Charge of the Light Brigade\", about a reckless military event).\n\nPublication history \nThey first appeared together in Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic series, in which they attempted to guide Tim Hunter through various realms of Magic in the DC Universe in order to teach him all of Magic's abilities and consequences.\n\nThe group would later re-unite in the five-issue miniseries The Names of Magic, before finally getting their own miniseries.\n\nMembers\n\nIn other media \n The team was mentioned in \"Mayhem of the Music Meister!\", a Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode.\n\nExternal links\n\nReferences \n\n1999 comics debuts\nFantasy comics\nDC Comics superhero teams\nLists of DC characters by organization\nThe Books of Magic",
"The Book of Ceremonial Magic by Arthur Edward Waite was originally called The Book of Black Magic and of Pacts. It was first published in a limited run in 1898, and distributed more widely under the title The Book of Ceremonial Magic in 1910. It is an attempt to document various famous grimoires, explain the history behind them (refuting many of the legends surrounding them), discuss the theology contained therein (e.g. raising the question why good angels would be summoned to kill an enemy), and to synthesize many famous grimoires into one system.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Text of The Book of Ceremonial Magic at the Internet Sacred Text Archive\n\n1911 non-fiction books\nOccult books"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.",
"what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
|
what else did he publish as an author?
| 4 |
what else did James Randi publish as an author, aside from Conjuring?
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James Randi
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Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982)
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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
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"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer",
"Leg Over Leg is a book by Ahmad Faris Shidyaq, considered one of the founders of modern Arabic literature. Detailing the life of 'the Fariyaq', the alter ego of the author, offering commentary on intellectual and social issues, it is described as \"always edifying and often hilarious\", \"the finest, wildest, funniest and most surprising novel in Arabic\", and \"[an] unclassifiable book\". It was originally published in 1855 in Arabic in Paris. In 2014, there was an English translation by Humphrey T. Davies published by NYU Press.\n\nHistory \nThe book was first published in Arabic 1855 in France. The author did not publish it in his homeland, Lebanon, probably because of the book's comments on religion.\n\nReferences \n\n1855 books\nArabic-language novels"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.",
"what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?",
"I don't know.",
"what else did he publish as an author?",
"Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982)"
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
|
which of these books got him an award if any?
| 5 |
which of the books got James Randi an award if any?
|
James Randi
|
Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
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[
"The Temple of Gold is a 1957 novel by William Goldman. It was Goldman's first novel, and launched his career.\n\nBackground\nThe novel was written in three weeks over the summer he graduated from college, in June–July 1956. Goldman had never written a novel before, but had several years experience writing short stories, though none had been published. \n\nThe title Temple of Gold was taken from the film Gunga Din. Another influence on the book was the novel Bonjour Tristesse. Goldman had recently done military service and met a man who had an agent. He sent the novel to the agent, and through him got representation from Joe McCrindle. McCrindle sent it to Knopf, who accepted it for publication. Goldman said Knopf:\nWanted me to double it in length and I didn't know what to do about that... That's still the most amazing thing I've ever heard any young writer be told. I was able to do it through some kind of madness but, Jesus, it's an insane thing for an editor to say.\nGoldman says he has \"no idea why\" Knopf accepted the novel \"but one of the things that happened, there was an interest in publishing books by young writers and I was one of those writers who basically got picked up along with it.\" \nGoldman later reflected:\nI never would have continued as a writer if The Temple of Gold had not been taken by the first publisher I sent it to. I'm not that masochistic. There was no way I was going to write anymore. I didn't know that then, but I know it now. There was no encouragement; no one ever said I had any talent. I had never written anything much over two pages long. I had done badly in school in terms of writing. I did not want to be a failure, but I did not have the courage to write a second book if the first had not been accepted.\nA 2001 Ballantine paperback edition of the novel included as an afterword a first chapter removed by Knopf.\n\nReception\nAccording to Goldman, \"the book, like most of my books, got crucified in hardcover and was a very, very successful book in paperback. Most of the books that I've written had their success in paperback.\"\n\nReferences\n\nEgan, Sean, William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller, Bear Manor Media 2014\n\n1957 American novels\nNovels by William Goldman\nAlfred A. Knopf books\n1957 debut novels",
"The Best Science Fiction of the Year #4 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the fourth volume in a series of sixteen. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in July 1975, and reissued in October 1976. The first British edition was published in hardcover by Gollancz in September 1975.\n\nThe book collects ten novellas, novelettes and short stories by various science fiction authors, with an introduction, notes and concluding essays by Carr and Charles N. Brown. The stories were previously published in 1974 in the magazines Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Worlds of If, and the anthologies Final Stage: The Ultimate Science Fiction Anthology, New Worlds 7, Fellowship of the Stars, Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Universe 4.\n\nContents\n\"Introduction\" (Terry Carr)\n\"We Purchased People\" (Frederik Pohl)\n\"Pale Roses\" (Michael Moorcock)\n\"The Hole Man\" (Larry Niven)\n\"Born with the Dead\" (Robert Silverberg)\n\"The Author of the Acacia Seeds and Other Extracts from the Journal of the Association of Therolinguistics\" (Ursula K. Le Guin)\n\"Dark Icarus\" (Bob Shaw)\n\"A Little Something for Us Tempunauts\" (Philip K. Dick)\n\"On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi\" (William Tenn)\n\"The Engine at Heartspring's \" (Roger Zelazny)\n\"If the Stars Are Gods\" (Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford)\n\"Honorable Mentions - 1974\" (Terry Carr)\n\"The Science Fiction Year\" (Charles N. Brown)\n\nAwards\nThe anthology placed second in the 1976 Locus Poll Award for Best Anthology.\n\n\"We Purchased People\" placed eleventh in the 1975 Locus Poll Award for Best Short Story.\n\n\"The Hole Man\" won the 1975 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and placed second in the 1975 Locus Poll Award for Best Short Story.\n\n\"Born with the Dead\" won the 1974 Nebula Award for Best Novella, was nominated for the 1975 Hugo Award for Best Novella, and placed first in the 1975 Locus Poll Award for Best Novella.\n\n\"A Little Something for Us Temponauts\" placed eighteenth in the 1975 Locus Poll Award for Best Novelette.\n\n\"On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi\" placed fifth in the 1975 Locus Poll Award for Best Novelette.\n\n\"The Engine at Heartspring's Center\" was nominated for the 1974 Nebula Award for Best Short Story and placed fifth in the 1975 Locus Poll Award for Best Short Story.\n\n\"If the Stars Are Gods\" won the 1974 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and placed eighth in the 1975 Locus Poll Award for Best Novelette.\n\nExternal links\n\n1975 short story collections\n Best Science Fiction of the Year 4, The\nBallantine Books books"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.",
"what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?",
"I don't know.",
"what else did he publish as an author?",
"Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982)",
"which of these books got him an award if any?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
|
what else is known about him as an author?
| 6 |
Besides being the author of ten books, what else is known about James Randi as an author?
|
James Randi
|
Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science.
|
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
| false |
[
"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer",
"\"Somebody else's problem\" or \"someone else's problem\" is an issue which is dismissed by a person on the grounds that they consider somebody else to be responsible for it, or that it is \"out of scope\" in a particular context.\n\nExamples\n\nA 1976 edition of the journal Ekistics used the phrase in the context of bureaucratic inaction on low-income housing, describing \"the principle of somebody else's problem\" as something that prevented progress. Where responsibility for a complex problem falls across many different departments of government, even those agencies who wish to tackle the issue are unable to do so.\n\nReferring to a team working on a computer programming project, Alan F. Blackwell wrote in 1997 that: \"Many sub-goals can be deferred to the degree that they become what is known amongst professional programmers as an 'S.E.P.' – somebody else's problem.\"\n\nDouglas Adams' SEP field\n\nDouglas Adams' 1982 novel Life, the Universe and Everything (in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series) introduces the idea of an \"SEP field\" as a kind of cloaking device. The character Ford Prefect says,\n\nThe narration then explains:\n\nAdams' description of an SEP field is quoted in an article of \"psychological invisibility\", where it is compared to other fictional effects such as the perception filter in Doctor Who, as well as cognitive biases such as inattentional blindness and change blindness.\n\nSee also\n\n Abilene paradox\n Buck passing\n Bystander effect\n Externality\n First they came ...\n Inattentional blindness\n NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)\n Other people's money\n Sheeple\n\nReferences\n\nGroup processes\nThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy\nPerception\nProblem solving\n\ncs:Seznam pojmů, osob a vynálezů ze Stopařova průvodce po Galaxii#Pole problému někoho jiného\nde:Hintergründe zu Per Anhalter durch die Galaxis#Problem-anderer-Leute-Feld"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.",
"what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?",
"I don't know.",
"what else did he publish as an author?",
"Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982)",
"which of these books got him an award if any?",
"I don't know.",
"what else is known about him as an author?",
"He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science."
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
|
what more does it say about science?
| 7 |
what more does James Randi's book A Magician in the Laboratory say about science, aside from being skeptical?
|
James Randi
|
Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine,
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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
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[
"Live! In Chicago is a blues album by Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band.\n\nCritical reception\n\nOn AllMusic, Steve Leggett wrote, \"[Kenny Wayne Shepherd] does play a hot lead guitar – that, in a nutshell, is what he does. But over the years he's also learned that the blues isn't just about blazing lead licks, it's also about letting the song say its say – and on Live! In Chicago he does that.... This isn't a live album from some teenaged savant – it's an album from a grown man proud and honored to be playing the blues with some of his heroes. It also rocks.\"\n\nTrack listing\n \"Somehow, Somewhere, Someway\"\n \"King's Highway\"\n \"True Lies\"\n \"Deja Voodoo\"\n \"Sell My Monkey\" (with Buddy Flett)\n \"Dance For Me Girl\" (with Buddy Flett)\n \"Baby, Don't Say That No More\" (with Willie \"Big Eyes\" Smith)\n \"Eye To Eye\" (with Willie \"Big Eyes\" Smith)\n \"How Many More Years\" (with Bryan Lee)\n \"Sick And Tired\" (with Bryan Lee)\n \"Feed Me\" (with Hubert Sumlin)\n \"Rocking Daddy\" (with Hubert Sumlin)\n \"Blue On Black\"\n \"I'm A King Bee\"\n\nPersonnel\nKenny Wayne Shepherd - lead guitar, vocals\nScott Nelson - bass guitar\nChris Layton - drums\nRiley Osbourne - Hammond B3, keyboards\nNoah Hunt - lead vocals, rhythm guitar\nHubert Sumlin\nWillie \"Big Eyes\" Smith\nBryan Lee\nBuddy Flett\n\nReferences\n\nKenny Wayne Shepherd albums\n2010 live albums\nRoadrunner Records live albums",
"\"The Man Who Had No Idea\" is a 1978 science fiction story by Thomas M. Disch. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.\n\nPlot summary\nIn a world where licenses are required in order to participate in conversation, Barry Riordan risks failing his exam because he cannot think of anything original.\n\nReception\n\"The Man Who Had No Idea\" was a finalist for the 1979 Hugo Award for Best Novelette\n\nJohn Sladek considered it to depict \"delightful problems\". Kirkus Reviews noted that it \"say(s) a great deal about our expectations of ourselves and others.\" John Clute, however, found it to be \"unaccountably genial and without formal bite\", such that its \"potentially formidable idea gradually declines into doodle\".\n\nOrigins\n\nIn a 1984 interview, Disch described it as \"a story about what our social relationships are really like\" and \"a springboard to the subject of what do we talk about when we talk about anything. What are all these social interactions about? What is the subject of them?\"\n\nReferences\n\n1978 short stories\nWorks by Thomas M. Disch\nWorks originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.",
"what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?",
"I don't know.",
"what else did he publish as an author?",
"Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982)",
"which of these books got him an award if any?",
"I don't know.",
"what else is known about him as an author?",
"He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science.",
"what more does it say about science?",
"He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine,"
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
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what is the most interesting aspect of this section?
| 8 |
what is the most interesting aspect about James Randi?
|
James Randi
|
Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
|
He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders,
|
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
| true |
[
"In aeronautics, the aspect ratio of a wing is the ratio of its span to its mean chord. It is equal to the square of the wingspan divided by the wing area. Thus, a long, narrow wing has a high aspect ratio, whereas a short, wide wing has a low aspect ratio.\n\nAspect ratio and other features of the planform are often used to predict the aerodynamic efficiency of a wing because the lift-to-drag ratio increases with aspect ratio, improving the fuel economy in powered airplanes and the gliding angle of sailplanes.\n\nDefinition \nThe aspect ratio is the ratio of the square of the wingspan to the projected wing area , which is equal to the ratio of the wingspan to the standard mean chord :\n\nMechanism \nAs a useful simplification, an airplane in flight can be imagined to affect a circular cylinder of air with a diameter equal to the wingspan. A large wingspan affects a large cylinder of air, and a small wingspan affects a small cylinder of air. A small air cylinder must be pushed down with a greater power (energy change per unit time) than a large cylinder in order to produce an equal upward force (momentum change per unit time). This is because giving the same momentum change to a smaller mass of air requires giving it a greater velocity change, and a much greater energy change because energy is proportional to the square of the velocity while momentum is only linearly proportional to the velocity. The aft-leaning component of this change in velocity is proportional to the induced drag, which is the force needed to take up that power at that airspeed.\n\nThe interaction between undisturbed air outside the cylinder of air, and the downward-moving cylinder of air occurs at the wingtips and can be seen as wingtip vortices.\n\nIt is important to keep in mind that this is a drastic oversimplification, and an airplane wing affects a very large area around itself.\n\nIn aircraft\n\nAlthough a long, narrow wing with a high aspect ratio has aerodynamic advantages like better lift-to-drag-ratio (see also details below), there are several reasons why not all aircraft have high aspect-ratio wings:\n\n Structural: A long wing has higher bending stress for a given load than a short one and therefore requires higher structural-design (architectural and/or material) specifications. Also, longer wings may have some torsion for a given load, and in some applications this torsion is undesirable (e.g. if the warped wing interferes with aileron effect).\n Maneuverability: a low aspect-ratio wing will have a higher roll angular acceleration than one with high aspect ratio, because a high aspect-ratio wing has a higher moment of inertia to overcome. In a steady roll, the longer wing gives a higher roll moment because of the longer moment arm of the aileron. Low aspect-ratio wings are usually used on fighter aircraft, not only for the higher roll rates, but especially for longer chord and thinner airfoils involved in supersonic flight.\n Parasitic drag: While high aspect wings create less induced drag, they have greater parasitic drag (drag due to shape, frontal area, and surface friction). This is because, for an equal wing area, the average chord (length in the direction of wind travel over the wing) is smaller. Due to the effects of Reynolds number, the value of the section drag coefficient is an inverse logarithmic function of the characteristic length of the surface, which means that, even if two wings of the same area are flying at equal speeds and equal angles of attack, the section drag coefficient is slightly higher on the wing with the smaller chord. However, this variation is very small when compared to the variation in induced drag with changing wingspan.For example, the section drag coefficient of a NACA 23012 airfoil (at typical lift coefficients) is inversely proportional to chord length to the power 0.129: \nA 20% increase in chord length would decrease the section drag coefficient by 2.38%.\n Practicality: low aspect ratios have a greater useful internal volume, since the maximum thickness is greater, which can be used to house the fuel tanks, retractable landing gear and other systems.\n Airfield size: Airfields, hangars, and other ground equipment define a maximum wingspan, which cannot be exceeded. To generate enough lift at a given wingspan, the aircraft designer must increase wing area by lengthening the chord, thus lowering the aspect ratio. This limits the Airbus A380 to 80m wide with an aspect ratio of 7.8, while the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350 have an aspect ratio of 9.5, influencing flight economy.\n\nVariable aspect ratio\n\nAircraft which approach or exceed the speed of sound sometimes incorporate variable-sweep wings. These wings give a high aspect ratio when unswept and a low aspect ratio at maximum sweep.\n\nIn subsonic flow, steeply swept and narrow wings are inefficient compared to a high-aspect-ratio wing. However, as the flow becomes transonic and then supersonic, the shock wave first generated along the wing's upper surface causes wave drag on the aircraft, and this drag is proportional to the span of the wing. Thus a long span, valuable at low speeds, causes excessive drag at transonic and supersonic speeds.\n\nBy varying the sweep the wing can be optimised for the current flight speed. However, the extra weight and complexity of a moveable wing mean that such a system is not included in many designs.\n\nBirds and bats\n\nThe aspect ratios of birds' and bats' wings vary considerably. Birds that fly long distances or spend long periods soaring such as albatrosses and eagles often have wings of high aspect ratio. By contrast, birds which require good maneuverability, such as the Eurasian sparrowhawk, have wings of low aspect ratio.\n\nDetails\nFor a constant-chord wing of chord c and span b, the aspect ratio is given by:\n\nIf the wing is swept, c is measured parallel to the direction of forward flight.\n\nFor most wings the length of the chord is not a constant but varies along the wing, so the aspect ratio AR is defined as the square of the wingspan b divided by the wing area S. In symbols,\n.\n\nFor such a wing with varying chord, the standard mean chord SMC is defined as \n\nThe performance of aspect ratio AR related to the lift-to-drag-ratio and wingtip vortices is illustrated in the formula used to calculate the drag coefficient of an aircraft \n\nwhere\n{| border=\"0\"\n|-\n| || is the aircraft drag coefficient\n|-\n| || is the aircraft zero-lift drag coefficient,\n|-\n| || is the aircraft lift coefficient,\n|-\n| || is the circumference-to-diameter ratio of a circle, pi,\n|- \n| || is the Oswald efficiency number\n|-\n| || is the aspect ratio.\n|}\n\nWetted aspect ratio\nThe wetted aspect ratio considers the whole wetted surface area of the airframe, , rather than just the wing. It is a better measure of the aerodynamic efficiency of an aircraft than the wing aspect ratio. It is defined as:\n\nwhere is span and is the wetted surface.\n\nIllustrative examples are provided by the Boeing B-47 and Avro Vulcan. Both aircraft have very similar performance although they are radically different. The B-47 has a high aspect ratio wing, while the Avro Vulcan has a low aspect ratio wing. They have, however, a very similar wetted aspect ratio.\n\nSee also\nCenterboard\nWing configuration\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n Anderson, John D. Jr, Introduction to Flight, 5th edition, McGraw-Hill. New York, NY. \n Anderson, John D. Jr, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics, Section 5.3 (4th edition), McGraw-Hill. New York, NY. \n L. J. Clancy (1975), Aerodynamics, Pitman Publishing Limited, London \n John P. Fielding. Introduction to Aircraft Design, Cambridge University Press, \n Daniel P. Raymer (1989). Aircraft Design: A Conceptual Approach, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., Washington, DC. \n McLean, Doug, Understanding Aerodynamics: Arguing from the Real Physics, Section 3.3.5 (1st Edition), Wiley. \n\nEngineering ratios\nAircraft wing design\nWing configurations",
"The Cyclopedia Talislanta is a supplement published by Bard Games in 1988 for the fantasy role-playing game Talislanta.\n\nContents\nThe Cyclopedia Talislanta, by Stephan Michael Sechi and with cover art by P.D. Breeding-Black, is the fifth supplement about the world of Talislanta. Information includes\n places of interest in Talislanta \n new monsters, animals, and plants \n New character types\n new skills and abilities \n\nThere are full-color maps of sections of Talislanta which join together to create a full map of the continent.\n\nReception\nStewart Wieck reviewed The Cyclopedia Talislanta for White Wolf #14, rating it 4 overall, and stated that \"Ownership of this book is a necessity for gamers with campaigns set in Talislanta. Other gamers should take a look just to see what Talislanta offers.\"\n\nIn the May 1989 edition of Dragon (Issue #145), Jim Bambra applauded the \"excellent interior illustrations\", and the wide range of new material. He concluded \"GMs and players who already adventure in Talislanta or use it as a source of ideas will find plenty of interesting material within this books pages, as it adds more interesting detail and color to the setting.\"\n\nIn the July-August 1989 edition of Space Gamer (Vol. II No. 1), Craig Sheeley commented that \"The encyclopedia-style information is listed alphabetically, a minor drawback which spreads specific places in the same areas throughout this section. The section new character race types is brief and concise, as is the gamemaster section (which takes up two pages with new weapons, skills and information.)\"\n\nReferences\n\nTalislanta supplements"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.",
"what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?",
"I don't know.",
"what else did he publish as an author?",
"Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982)",
"which of these books got him an award if any?",
"I don't know.",
"what else is known about him as an author?",
"He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science.",
"what more does it say about science?",
"He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine,",
"what is the most interesting aspect of this section?",
"He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders,"
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
|
what was the club about?
| 9 |
what was the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders about?
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James Randi
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Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
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"\"What About Us\" is a single released by British-Irish girl group the Saturdays. Their first international single, it is the lead single from their first American-only release EP, Chasing the Saturdays (2013). It also acts as the second single from their fourth studio album Living for the Weekend (2013). The single was first released in the United States and Canada on 18 December 2012 via digital download, before being released in the United Kingdom on 16 March 2013 via CD single and digital download. The single was written by Camille Purcell, Ollie Jacobs, Philip Jacobs. There are two different versions of the track which have been recorded and released: a solo version, which was released exclusively in the US and Canada, and a version featuring Jamaican rapper Sean Paul, which was released internationally. Music critics gave the song positive feedback, but questioned the heavily auto-tuned chorus and the move away from the group's traditional sound.\n\nA music video was released for the song was published and released via the Saturdays' Vevo account on 11 January 2013. The video was filmed in Los Angeles, where the band were filming their US reality series, Chasing the Saturdays, which is broadcast through E!. An acoustic version of \"Somebody Else's Life\", which can be heard on the opening titles of the show, was released as a B-side. The Saturdays went on to a promotional tour in order to get the song \"out there\" in the United States, and appeared on a number of different chat shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Jeff Probst Show, Fashion Police, Chelsea Lately and The Today Show in New York City. They later went on to a promotional tour in the UK, visiting radio stations around the country.\n\n\"What About Us\" gained commercial success, debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart to become the Saturdays' twelfth UK top 10 single and first ever number-one. In Ireland, the song debuted at number six on the Irish Singles Chart, gaining the group their fifth top 10 single there. With first-week sales of 114,000 copies and 40,000 copies more sold than their closest competitor to number one, \"What About Us\" was the fastest-selling single of 2013 in the UK until it was overtaken by Naughty Boy's \"La La La\" two months later. In December 2013, it was announced as the eleventh fastest-selling single of the year overall. As of August 2014, the song has sold over 400,000 copies in the UK. On 23 December 2013, Mollie King posted a photo on Instagram of her holding a 500,000 sales plaque from their record label, with the message that \"What About Us\" had sold over 500,000 copies in UK and USA, with 120,000 copies in the US alone even without charting on the Billboard Hot 100.\n\nBackground \n\nIn 2012, it was announced that the Saturdays had received an offer to star in their own reality television programme, Chasing the Saturdays, broadcast through E! Network. While filming their show, the band began visiting the recording studio, where they began work with Rodney \"Darkchild\" Jerkins.\n\nThe Saturdays felt comfortable with their US labels, and thanked them for not only giving them a chance in North America, but for making them feel at ease and welcome which took a lot of \"weight of our shoulders\". The band said they have always respected the labels due to the massive success they've had with artists. The band had been working with Demi Lovato in the recording studio.\n\nComposition\n\n\"What About Us\" was written and produced by Ollie Jacobs and acts as the Saturdays first single to be released in North America where it could appear on the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100. In America its release coincided with their TV show, Chasing the Saturdays. The track is the band's fourteenth single to be released in the United Kingdom and Ireland and the track is a dance-pop song. Before the release of the song, Mollie King said that the band were excited to share the track as they had the song \"for months\" She said: \"I can't wait for everyone to hear it and to get to perform it. I'm just so excited about this one, I think it's going down really well.\" The band said they didn't want to change their type of music just for the American public and would stick to their roots and the genre they enjoyed to perform. King spoke: \"We've always made a point that we don't want to change to go to America. We wanted to go over as we are and if they like us, they like us and if they don't, they don't!\" King said that the track is reggae pop music, a little different from what band usually record, but the track is still really \"dancey\" and \"upbeat\", as well a good song to dance to on either stage or at a club. When Una Healy was asked what the song was about she said that she \"did not know\" what the song was exactly about. \"To be honest I was trying to figure out the other day what exactly it's about. I could bullshit away telling you, but I really don't know. But I think it's all about someone driving you crazy.\" She said she \"thinks\" that 'What About Us' part means \"me and you getting together\". She did point out that she did know that the song was about \"making you happy\" and that the track was good for the summer and will get you on the dancefloor. The band teased saying that \"What About Us\" is a pop track, and that is a good indication of what the expect from the album, and that they've paired up with Diane Warren to record a few ballads and not just pop tracks. \"What About Us\" is the only collaboration on the album.\n\nRelease\n\"What About Us\" was confirmed as the Saturdays' first single to be released in North America, and would be released on 18 December 2012 to coincide with their American reality show, Chasing the Saturdays. It was also revealed that the track would be released as the lead single from the band's North America released only Extended play, Chasing the Saturdays, which was named after the show. Some critics said that releasing \"What About Us\" from an EP for the US market was a \"wise decision\". One critic said: For, throwing out a traditional release on the back of a show that isn't (yet) a hit would ultimately be setting them up for failure. What's more, the EP allows their \"storyline\" for the next season of the show (should there be one) to revolve around recording an album. In the United Kingdom, it was revealed that \"What About Us\" would be the follow-up single from \"30 Days\" in the UK and Ireland, and therefore would not be the lead single from the band's fourth studio album. The band announced that before the release of the album, there would be another single release from the album. The follow-up single was revealed to be titled \"Gentleman\".\n\nJust like all the band's previous singles, the record was accepted by all A-Lists at radio stations. The UK and Ireland version of the track features a guest rap from Sean Paul. Whereas the North American version does not feature vocals from Sean Paul and only vocals from the band. The original version of the track last 3 minutes and 24 seconds, whereas the version which features Sean Paul lasts 3 minutes and 40 seconds. The single was released with B-side, an Acoustic version of a brand new track, \"Somebody Else's Life\", which is the opening theme to Chasing the Saturdays. \"What About Us\" was released as a digital download EP, and this featured the single version which features Sean Paul, the solo version and the B-side track. Upon the release in North America, there was a digital remixes EP which featured remixes of \"What About Us\" by a number of DJs including: Seamus Haji, Guy Scheiman, the Buzz Junkies and 2nd Adventure and this was also made available to purchase on 18 December 2012. While in the UK, the CD single was made available to be from stores from 18 March 2013. On the CD single featured \"What About Us\", the B-side \"Somebody Else's Life\".\n\nThe band decided to release \"What About Us\" differently between the United Kingdom and the United States, \"What About Us\" was released onto the charts without any airplay and without a music video accompanying the release, something the band experienced in the UK, with \"Notorious\". Whereas in the UK, \"What About Us\" was released with airplay and the music video being released before the release of the single. During this time, Frankie Sandford became ambassadors for mental health after Sandford battled depression. The band said they choose \"What About Us\" to be the lead single in the US and follow-up single from \"30 Days\" because they all loved it once they demoed it and it gave them a \"really good feeling\" They also said it is a fresh start for a new album, with a \"reggae vibe\", but still a pop record. The Saturdays said that Sean Paul was \"perfect\" for the UK version of the song. They said that he was \"just so nice\" and that he would be present during some of the promotional performances when the single was released.\n\nCritical reception\nRobert Copsey of Digital Spy said that Rochelle Humes asks in a \"curious Jamaican-flecked timbre\" during the intro of \"What About Us\". During the lyrics \"Oh why are we are waiting so long I'm suffocating\", and he went on to say that it is in reference to \"man-related drama\" and also pointing out that there is plenty of that on their reality series, Chasing the Saturdays. Copsey later went on to tip the band for their first number-one single as he said: \"but we suspect it could also be a sly wink at their enduring quest for a number one single\". He said that track was \"radio-friendly\" due to the \"trace beats\" and \"demanding their contrary lover to give up the hard-to-get schtick sharpish\". Although he didn't think that the song was \"original\" enough for the band, but is \"strangely addictive\" and he would be happy to see the song at the top of the charts.\n\n4Music described the song as a \"electro-pop affair with a bucket-load of synths thrown in for good measure. It's quite good, but we wonder if they should reconsider this single choice if they truly want to launch an invasion on America's charts.\" Idolator wrote a mixed review criticizing the track for lacking the group's signature style; \"While the beat is pounding enough to nab the girls a chart hit, it doesn’t feel true to the spirit of The Sats. Then again, maybe it isn’t supposed to.\" Jessica Sager from PopCrush also touched on the departure from their original sound; \"It’s a pretty big departure from their usual sugary oeuvre, but not necessarily in a bad way.\" She went on to praise Sean Paul's feature; \"His presence on the track gives it an air of authenticity and fun, but pretty much only during his own verses and interjections.\" However, she criticised the mediocre attempt at dialect the groups sing in throughout the track; \"When the Saturdays try to emulate island tones, it sounds a little awkward and they start out like that right off the bat, but go in and out of the undistinguished dialect throughout the song.\" She also felt that the heavily Auto-Tuned chorus was not need; \"The Auto-Tune seems extraneous, because the Saturdays can actually sing well without it.\" She end the review by labeling their latest effort as \"generic\" and \"not the best the Saturdays have to offer\", also rating it two and a half stars out of five.\n\nCommercial reception\n\"What About Us\" debuted at number 44 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart for the week dated 8 December 2012. This marks their first ever chart entry in the United States and it has since peaked at number twenty-seven. The song debuted at number 79 on the Canadian Hot 100, becoming the highest Canadian debut for a new artist in 2013.\n\nThe Saturdays admitted that they did not want to get their hopes up on debuting at number one on the UK Singles Charts due to being beaten to number-one three times before with \"Forever Is Over\", \"Just Can't Get Enough\" and \"Missing You\", after being number one on the Official Chart Update. During the latter two occasions, it was rapper Flo Rida who had pushed them back to numbers two and three respectively. It was revealed that the Saturdays had knocked Justin Timberlake's \"Mirrors\" off the number-one spot on the UK Singles Chart. This became the band's first ever number-one single in the United Kingdom, it also became Sean Paul's second number one in the United Kingdom after being featured on \"Breathe\" in 2003. For every one copy that Timberlake's \"Mirrors\" sold, the Saturdays sold two more copies of \"What About Us\". \"What About Us\" sold 114,000 copies in the first week of release, making it, at the time, the fastest selling single of 2013. The track sold 40,000 copies more than Timberlake, who was pushed back to number-two on the UK Singles Charts. The band said they were thrilled to be the UK's number-one with \"What About Us\". They went on to thanking their fans for supporting the single and supporting them for the past five years.\n\n\"What About Us\" debuted at number six on the Irish Singles Chart, marking the band's fifth top ten single in that country. \"What About Us\" made its debut at number thirty-six on the New Zealand Singles Chart.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video for \"What About Us\" was filmed during the summer of 2012 in Los Angeles, while the Saturdays were filming their reality television series. The North American version of the video was released via the Saturdays' official Vevo account on YouTube on 11 January 2013. A variant of the video, featuring vocals and additional scenes of the women with Sean Paul, was later released on 5 February 2013.\n\nLive performances and promotion\nThe Saturdays appeared in a number of nightclubs throughout 2012 in the United States performing \"What About Us\" along other hits. On 14 January 2013, the group made their first televised performance of the single on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It was their first performance done on American television. On 16 January, the girls performed \"What About Us\" on The Today Show in New York City. Along with the performances, they appeared on chat shows such as Chelsea Lately, Daybreak, Fashion Police, Lorraine, The Jeff Probst Show, Loose Women, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, Sunday Brunch and What's Cooking? to promote the single.\n\nTrack listings\nUS digital download\n\"What About Us\" - 3:24\n\nCD Single - UK Version Only\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) - 3:40\n\"What About Us\" - 3:24\n\"Somebody Else's Life\" (Acoustic) - 3:18\n\nUS Digital remixes EP\n\"What About Us\" (Seamus Haji Radio Edit) - 3:06\n\"What About Us\" (Seamus Haji Club Mix) - 6:35\n\"What About Us\" (Seamus Haji Dub) - 6:49\n\"What About Us\" (Guy Scheiman Radio Edit) - 3:59\n\"What About Us\" (Guy Scheiman Club Mix) - 7:35\n\"What About Us\" (Guy Scheiman Dub) - 7:20\n\"What About Us\" (The Buzz Junkies Radio Edit) - 3:23\n\"What About Us\" (The Buzz Junkies Club Mix) - 4:32\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) - 4:32\n\"What About Us\" (2nd Adventure Radio Edit) - 4:24\n\"What About Us\" (2nd Adventure Club Mix) - 6:36\n\nEurope and Oceania EP - digital download\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) - 3:40\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) [The Buzz Junkies Radio Edit] - 3:23\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) [Seamus Haji Radio Edit] - 3:37\n\"What About Us\" (Guy Scheiman Radio Edit) - 3:58\n\"What About Us\" (Extended Mix) - 3:49 (only available through pre-order)\n\nUK Digital Remixes EP\n\"What About Us\" (Guy Scheiman Club Mix) - 7:35\n\"What About Us\" (2nd Adventure Club Mix) - 6:36\n\"What About Us\" (Seamus Haji Club Mix) - 6:35\n\"What About Us\" (The Buzz Junkies Club Mix) - 4:32\n\"What About Us\" (2nd Adventure Radio Edit) - 4:24\n\nRevamped Version\n\"What About Us\" - 3:24\n\"Somebody Else's Life\" (Acoustic) - 3:18\n\"What About Us\" (Extended Mix) - 3:49\n\"What About Us\" (2nd Adventure Radio Edit) - 4:24\n\"What About Us\" (Guy Scheiman Radio Edit) - 3:58\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) - 4:32\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) [The Buzz Junkies Radio Edit] - 3:23\n\"What About Us\" (featuring Sean Paul) [Seamus Haji Radio Edit] - 3:37\n\"What About Us\" (2nd Adventure Club Mix) - 6:36\n\"What About Us\" (Guy Scheiman Club Mix) - 7:35\n\"What About Us\" (The Buzz Junkies Club Mix) - 4:32\n\"What About Us\" (Seamus Haji Club Mix) - 6:35\n\nCredits and personnel\n\"What About Us\" was recorded at Rollover Studios in London.\n\nOllie Jacobs a.k.a. Art Bastian ~ Songwriter, Producer, Vocal Producer, Mix Engineer\n\nPhillip Jacobs ~ co-writer\nCamille Purcell ~ co-writer\nThe Saturdays ~ vocals\nSean Paul ~ guest vocalist\n\nCharts and certifications\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease and radio history\n\nSee also\n\nList of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n feat. Sean Paul\n\nThe Saturdays songs\nSean Paul songs\n2012 singles\nDance-pop songs\nNumber-one singles in Scotland\nUK Singles Chart number-one singles\nSongs written by Camille Purcell\n2012 songs\nFascination Records singles\nSongs written by Ollie Jacobs",
"Blairgowrie RFC is a rugby union club based in Blairgowrie and Rattray, Scotland. The Men's team currently plays in .\n\nHistory\n\nIt was founded in 1980, originally as Blairgowrie HSFP.\n\nThere was a previous Blairgowrie rugby side in the 19th century which often provided players to the Perthshire county side to play Fifeshire. For example P. D. Laing at full back and W. Robertson at quarter (Centre) in 1889.\n\nThe John Johnston Coupar Park which the club plays on was the land an old berry farm used to reside. The land was bequeathed to the town for recreational use when the berry farming on the site ended.\n\nThe side recorded a 172 - nil victory in a friendly match against Howe of Fife in the early season of 2016-17. That was a portent of things to come as the team won the Bowl Final at Murrayfield at the end of that season.\n\nThe club hit the headlines in June 2021 when one of the players went into cardiac arrest - he was saved by his teammates using CPR and then a defibrillator. The club president Mark Reddin explained:\n“We’ve got a couple of guys who are police officers at the club, and two of them knew what to do straight away and started giving CPR. Everybody there jumped into action and did exactly what they're supposed to do. Hamish is a young guy, 20, about to turn 21, and I'm delighted that he has survived this. We were just playing a touch game that we do during the summer months. It was about 7pm and Hamish fell to the ground, I think he was holding his head and he started fitting, it was clear that it was a big issue. He couldn't breathe and his lips were turning blue. Hamish actually had his heart stop, it was the defibrillator that brought him back. It's worth its weight in gold, I think what this shows is the importance of these machines, the fact that having it there can even save one life.”\n\nFormer Scotland internationals Sean Lamont and Rory Lamont's mother was a previous Secretary of the club; however her sons did not play for the club.\n\nSides\n\nBlairgowrie runs various sides including men's, women's and juniors. The Blairgowrie Rams are its junior club. The rams are run for boys and girls aged 5–17.\n\nBlairgowrie Tens\n\nBlairgowrie host an annual rugby tens tournament; which usually takes place alongside the Blairgowrie Ale Festival.\n\nHonours\n\n Regional Bowl\n Champions (1): 2016-17\n\nReferences\n\nRugby union in Perth and Kinross\nScottish rugby union teams"
] |
[
"James Randi",
"Author",
"what did randi do as an author?",
"Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians.",
"what else was interesting in conjuring?",
"Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks.",
"what was the most famous magic mentioned in this book?",
"I don't know.",
"what else did he publish as an author?",
"Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982)",
"which of these books got him an award if any?",
"I don't know.",
"what else is known about him as an author?",
"He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science.",
"what more does it say about science?",
"He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine,",
"what is the most interesting aspect of this section?",
"He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders,",
"what was the club about?",
"served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers."
] |
C_04f4f1e689224942bf3484b38902cae8_1
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what was the highlight of his career as an author?
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what was the highlight of James Randi's career as an author?
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James Randi
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Randi is the author of ten books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of noted magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover says that it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book selects the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book titled Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini. Randi also wrote a children's book in 1989 titled The Magic World of the Amazing Randi, which introduced children to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. He is currently working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounts his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his good friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers. Other books are Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995). Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He is also a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, which is published by CSI, of which he is also a Fellow. CANNOTANSWER
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In addition to his magic books, he has written several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims.
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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Although often referred to as a "debunker", Randi said he disliked the term's connotations and preferred to describe himself as an "investigator". He wrote about paranormal phenomena, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, famously exposing fraudulent faith healer Peter Popoff, and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!
Before Randi's retirement, JREF sponsored the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge, which offered a prize of one million US dollars to eligible applicants who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event under test conditions agreed to by both parties. In 2015, the James Randi Educational Foundation said they will no longer accept applications directly from people claiming to have a paranormal power, but will offer the challenge to anyone who has passed a preliminary test that meets with their approval.
Early life
Randi was born on August 7, 1928, in Toronto, Canada. He was the son of Marie Alice (née Paradis) and George Randall Zwinge. He had a younger brother and sister. He took up magic after seeing Harry Blackstone Sr. and reading conjuring books while spending 13 months in a body cast following a bicycle accident. He confounded doctors, who expected he would never walk again. Randi often skipped classes, and at 17, dropped out of high school to perform as a conjurer in a carnival roadshow. He practiced as a mentalist in local nightclubs and at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition and wrote for Montreal's tabloid press. As a teenager, he stumbled upon a church where the pastor claimed to read minds. After he re-enacted the trick before the parishioners, the pastor's wife called the police and he spent four hours in a jail cell. This inspired his career as a scientific skeptic.
In his 20s, Randi posed as an astrologer, and to establish that they merely were doing simple tricks, he briefly wrote an astrological column in the Canadian tabloid Midnight under the name "Zo-ran" by simply shuffling up items from newspaper astrology columns and pasting them randomly into a column. In his 30s, Randi worked in the UK, Europe, Philippine nightclubs, and Japan. He witnessed many tricks that were presented as being supernatural. One of his earliest reported experiences was that of seeing an evangelist using a version of the "one-ahead" technique to convince churchgoers of his divine powers.
Career
Magician
Although defining himself as a conjuror, Randi began a career as a professional stage magician and escapologist in 1946. He initially presented himself under his real name, Randall Zwinge, which he later dropped in favor of "The Amazing Randi". Early in his career, he performed numerous escape acts from jail cells and safes around the world. On February 7, 1956, he appeared live on NBC's Today show, where he remained for 104 minutes in a sealed metal coffin that had been submerged in a hotel swimming pool, breaking what was said to be Harry Houdini's record of 93 minutes, though Randi called attention to the fact that he was much younger than Houdini had been when he established the original record in 1926.
Randi was a frequent guest on the Long John Nebel program on New York City radio station WOR, and did character voices for commercials. After Nebel moved to WNBC in 1962, Randi was given Nebel's time slot on WOR, where he hosted The Amazing Randi Show from 1967 to 1968. The show often had guests who defended paranormal claims, among them Randi's then-friend James W. Moseley. Randi stated that he quit WOR over complaints from the archbishop of New York that Randi had said on-air that "Jesus Christ was a religious nut," a claim that Randi disputed.
Randi also hosted numerous television specials and went on several world tours. As "The Amazing Randi" he appeared regularly on the New York-based children's television series Wonderama from 1959 to 1967. In 1970, he auditioned for a revival of the 1950s children's show The Magic Clown, which showed briefly in Detroit and in Kenya, but was never picked up. In the February 2, 1974, issue of the British conjuring magazine Abracadabra, Randi, in defining the community of magicians, stated: "I know of no calling which depends so much upon mutual trust and faith as does ours." In the December 2003 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, it is stated: "Perhaps Randi's ethics are what make him Amazing" and "The Amazing Randi not only talks the talk, he walks the walk."
During Alice Cooper's 1973–1974 Billion Dollar Babies tour, Randi performed on stage both as a mad dentist and as Cooper's executioner. He also built several of the stage props, including the guillotine. In a 1976 performance for the Canadian TV special World of Wizards, Randi escaped from a straitjacket while suspended upside-down over Niagara Falls.
Randi has been accused of actually using "psychic powers" to perform acts such as spoon bending. According to James Alcock, at a meeting where Randi was duplicating the performances of Uri Geller, a professor from the University at Buffalo shouted out that Randi was a fraud. Randi said: "Yes, indeed, I'm a trickster, I'm a cheat, I'm a charlatan, that's what I do for a living. Everything I've done here was by trickery." The professor shouted back: "That's not what I mean. You're a fraud because you're pretending to do these things through trickery, but you're actually using psychic powers and misleading us by not admitting it." A similar event involved Senator Claiborne Pell, a confirmed believer in psychic phenomena. When Randi personally demonstrated to Pell that he could reveal—by simple trickery—a concealed drawing that had been secretly made by the senator, Pell refused to believe that it was a trick, saying: "I think Randi may be a psychic and doesn't realize it." Randi consistently denied having any paranormal powers or abilities.
Randi was a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM), the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), and The Magic Circle in the UK, holding the rank of "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star."
Author
Randi wrote 10 books, among them Conjuring (1992), a biographical history of prominent magicians. The book is subtitled Being a Definitive History of the Venerable Arts of Sorcery, Prestidigitation, Wizardry, Deception, & Chicanery and of the Mountebanks & Scoundrels Who have Perpetrated these Subterfuges on a Bewildered Public, in short, MAGIC! The book's cover indicates it is by "James Randi, Esq., A Contrite Rascal Once Dedicated to these Wicked Practices but Now Almost Totally Reformed". The book features the most influential magicians and tells some of their history, often in the context of strange deaths and careers on the road. This work expanded on Randi's second book, Houdini, His Life and Art. This illustrated work was published in 1976 and was co-authored with Bert Sugar. It focuses on the professional and private life of Houdini.
Randi's book, The Magic World of the Amazing Randi (1989), was intended as a children's introduction to magic tricks. In addition to his magic books, he wrote several educational works about paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. These include biographies of Uri Geller and Nostradamus, as well as reference material on other major paranormal figures. In 2011, he was working on A Magician in the Laboratory, which recounted his application of skepticism to science. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders, which served as the basis of his friend Isaac Asimov's fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers.
Other books by Randi include Flim-Flam! (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), James Randi, Psychic Investigator (1991), Test Your ESP Potential (1982) and An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995).
Randi was a regular contributor to Skeptic magazine, penning the "'Twas Brillig ..." column, and also served on its editorial board. He was a frequent contributor to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published by Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, of which he was also a fellow.
Skeptic
Randi gained the international spotlight in 1972 when he publicly challenged the claims of Uri Geller. He accused Geller of being nothing more than a charlatan and a fraud who used standard magic tricks to accomplish his allegedly paranormal feats, and he presented his claims in the book The Truth About Uri Geller (1982).
Believing that it was important to get columnists and TV personalities to challenge Geller and others like him, Randi and CSICOP reached out in an attempt to educate them. Randi said that CSICOP had a "very substantial influence on the printed media ... in those days." During this effort, Randi made contact with Johnny Carson and discovered that he was "very much on our side. He wasn't only a comedian ... he was a great thinker." According to Randi, when he was on The Tonight Show, Carson broke his usual protocol of not talking with guests before their entrance on stage, but instead would ask what Randi wanted to be emphasized in the interview. "He wanted to be aware of how he could help me."
In 1973, Geller appeared on The Tonight Show, and this appearance is recounted in the Nova documentary "Secrets of the Psychics".
In the documentary, Randi says that Carson "had been a magician himself and was skeptical" of Geller's claimed paranormal powers, so before the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery". Per Randi's advice, the show prepared its own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them". When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me" and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and expressing his displeasure at feeling like he was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's November 7, 2014 article in The New York Times:
However, this appearance on The Tonight Show, which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham:
According to Higginbotham, this result caused Randi to realize that much more must be done to stop Geller and those like him. So in 1976, Randi approached Ray Hyman, a psychologist who had observed the tests of Geller's ability at Stanford and thought them slipshod, and suggested they create an organization dedicated to combating pseudoscience. Later that same year, together with Martin Gardner, a Scientific American columnist whose writing had helped hone Hyman's and Randi's skepticism, they formed the Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).
Using donations and sales of their magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, they and secular humanist philosopher Paul Kurtz took seats on the executive board, with Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan joining as founding members. Randi travelled the world on behalf of CSICOP, becoming its public face, and according to Hyman, the face of the skeptical movement.
András G. Pintér, producer and co-host of the European Skeptics Podcast, called Randi the grandfather of European skepticism by virtue of Randi "playing a role in kickstarting several European organizations."
Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million in 1991 and lost. Geller's suit against CSICOP was thrown out in 1995, and he was ordered to pay $120,000 for filing a frivolous lawsuit. The legal costs Randi incurred used almost all of a $272,000 MacArthur Foundation grant awarded to Randi in 1986 for his work. Randi also dismissed Geller's claims that he was capable of the kind of psychic photography associated with the case of Ted Serios. It is a matter, Randi argued, of trick photography using a simple hand-held optical device. During the period of Geller's legal dispute, CSICOP's leadership, wanting to avoid becoming a target of Geller's litigation, demanded that Randi refrain from commenting on Geller. Randi refused and resigned, though he maintained a respectful relationship with the group, which in 2006 changed its name to the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI). In 2010, Randi was one of 16 new CSI fellows elected by its board.
Randi went on to write many articles criticizing beliefs and claims regarding the paranormal. He also demonstrated flaws in studies suggesting the existence of paranormal phenomena; in his Project Alpha hoax, Randi successfully planted two fake psychics in a privately funded psychic research experiment.
Randi appeared on numerous TV shows, sometimes to directly debunk the claimed abilities of fellow guests. In a 1981 appearance on That's My Line, Randi appeared opposite claimed psychic James Hydrick, who said that he could move objects with his mind and appeared to demonstrate this claim on live television by turning a page in a telephone book without touching it. Randi, having determined that Hydrick was surreptitiously blowing on the book, arranged foam packaging peanuts on the table in front of the telephone book for the demonstration. This prevented Hydrick from demonstrating his abilities, which would have been exposed when the blowing moved the packaging. Randi writes that, eventually, Hydrick "confessed everything".
Randi was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1986. The fellowship's five-year $272,000 grant helped support Randi's investigations of faith healers, including W. V. Grant, Ernest Angley, and Peter Popoff, whom Randi first exposed on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in February 1986. Hearing about his investigation of Popoff, Carson invited Randi onto his show without seeing the evidence he was going to reveal. Carson appeared stunned after Randi showed a brief video segment from one of Popoff's broadcasts showing him calling out a woman in the audience, revealed personal information about her that he claimed came from God, and then performed a laying-on-of-hands healing to drive the devil from her body. Randi then replayed the video, but with some of the sound dubbed in that he and his investigating team captured during the event using a radio scanner and recorder. Their scanner had detected the radio frequency Popoff's wife Elizabeth was using backstage to broadcast directions and information to a miniature radio receiver hidden in Popoff's left ear. That information had been gathered by Popoff's assistants, who had handed out "prayer cards" to the audience before the show, instructing them to write down all the information Popoff would need to pray for them.
The news coverage generated by Randi's exposé on The Tonight Show led to many TV stations dropping Popoff's show, eventually forcing him into bankruptcy in September 1987. However, the televangelist returned soon after with faith-healing infomercials that reportedly attracted more than $23 million in 2005 from viewers sending in money for promised healing and prosperity. The Canadian Centre for Inquiry's Think Again! TV documented one of Popoff's more recent performances before a large audience who gathered in Toronto on May 26, 2011, hoping to be saved from illness and poverty.
In February 1988, Randi tested the gullibility of the media by perpetrating a hoax of his own. By teaming up with Australia's 60 Minutes program and by releasing a fake press package, he built up publicity for a "spirit channeler" named Carlos, who was actually artist José Alvarez, Randi's partner. While performing as Carlos, Alvarez was prompted by Randi using sophisticated radio equipment. According to the 60 Minutes program on the Carlos hoax, "it was claimed that Alvarez would not have had the audience he did at the Opera House (and the resulting potential sales therefrom) had the media coverage been more aggressive (and factual)", though an analysis by The Skeptics Tim Mendham concluded that, while the media coverage of Alvarez's appearances was not credulous, the hoax "at least showed that they could benefit by being a touch more sceptical". The hoax was exposed on 60 Minutes Australia; "Carlos" and Randi explained how they had pulled it off.
In his book The Faith Healers, Randi wrote that his anger and relentlessness arose from compassion for the victims of fraud. Randi was also critical of João de Deus, a.k.a. "John of God", a self-proclaimed psychic surgeon who had received international attention. Randi observed, referring to psychic surgery, "To any experienced conjurer, the methods by which these seeming miracles are produced are very obvious."
In 1982, Randi verified the abilities of Arthur Lintgen, a Philadelphia doctor, who was able to identify the classical music recorded on a vinyl LP solely by examining the grooves on the record. However, Lintgen did not claim to have any paranormal ability, merely knowledge of the way that the groove forms patterns on particular recordings.
In 1988, John Maddox, editor of the prominent science journal Nature, asked Randi to join the supervision and observation of the homeopathy experiments conducted by Jacques Benveniste's team. Once Randi's stricter protocol for the experiment was in place, the positive results could not be reproduced.
Randi stated that Daniel Dunglas Home, who could allegedly play an accordion that was locked in a cage without touching it, was caught cheating on a few occasions, but the incidents were never made public. He also stated that the actual instrument in use was a one-octave mouth organ concealed under Home's large mustache and that other one-octave mouth organs were found in Home's belongings after his death. According to Randi, author William Lindsay Gresham told Randi "around 1960" that he had seen these mouth organs in the Home collection at the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Eric J. Dingwall, who catalogued Home's collection on its arrival at the SPR does not record the presence of the mouth organs. According to Peter Lamont, the author of an extensive Home biography, "It is unlikely Dingwall would have missed these or did not make them public." The fraudulent medium Henry Slade also played an accordion while held with one hand under a table. Slade and Home played the same pieces. They had at one time lived near each other in the U.S. The magician Chung Ling Soo exposed how Slade had performed the trick.
Randi distinguished between pseudoscience and "crackpot science". He regarded most of parapsychology as pseudoscience because of the way in which it is approached and conducted, but nonetheless saw it as a legitimate subject that "should be pursued", and from which real scientific discoveries may develop. Randi regarded crackpot science as "equally wrong" as pseudoscience, but with no scientific pretensions.
Despite multiple debunkings, Randi did not like to be called a "debunker", preferring to call himself a "skeptic" or an "investigator":
Skeptics and magicians Penn & Teller credit Randi and his career as a skeptic for their own careers. During an interview at TAM! 2012, Penn stated that Flim-Flam! was an early influence on him, and said "If not for Randi there would not be Penn & Teller as we are today." He went on to say "Outside of my family ... no one is more important in my life. Randi is everything to me."
At the NECSS skeptic conference in 2017, Randi was asked by George Hrab what a "'skeptic coming of age ceremony' would look like" and Randi talked about what it was like as a child to learn about the speed of light and how that felt like he was looking into the past. Randi stated "More kids need to be stunned".
At The Amaz!ng Meeting in 2011 (TAM 9) the Independent Investigations Group (IIG) organized a tribute to Randi. The group gathered together with other attendees, put on fake white beards, and posed for a large group photo with Randi. At the CSICon in 2017, in absence of Randi, the IIG organized another group photo with leftover beards from the 2011 photo. After Randi was sent the photo, he replied, "I'm always very touched by any such expression. This is certainly no exception. You have my sincere gratitude. I suspect, however that a couple of those beards were fake. But I'm in a forgiving mood at the moment. I'm frankly very touched. I'll see you at the next CSICon. Thank you all."
In a 2019 Skeptical Inquirer magazine article, Harriet Hall, a friend of Randi, compares him to the fictional Albus Dumbledore. Hall describes their long white beards, flamboyant clothing, associated with a bird (Dumbledore with a phoenix and Randi with Pegasus). They both are caring and have "immense brainpower" and both "can perform impressive feats of magic". She states that Randi is one of "major inspirations for the skeptical work I do ... He's way better than Dumbledore!".
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live television show
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live was a two-hour television special aired live on June 7, 1989, wherein Randi examined several people claiming psychic powers. Hosted by actor Bill Bixby, the program offered $100,000 (Randi's $10,000 prize plus $90,000 put up by the show's syndicator, LBS Communications, Inc.) to anyone who could demonstrate genuine psychic powers.
An astrologer, Joseph Meriwether, claimed that he was able to ascertain a person's astrological sign after talking with them for a few minutes. He was presented with twelve people, one at a time, each with a different astrological sign. They could not tell Meriwether their astrological sign or birth date, nor could they wear anything that would indicate it. After Meriwether talked to them, he had them go and sit in front of the astrological sign that he thought was theirs. By agreement, Meriwether needed to get ten of the 12 correct, to win. He got none correct.
The next psychic, Barbara Martin, claimed to be able to read auras around people, claiming that auras were visible at least five inches above each person. She selected ten people from a group of volunteers whom she said had clearly visible auras. On stage were erected ten screens, numbered 1 through 10, just tall enough to hide the volunteer while not hiding their aura. Unseen by Martin, some of the volunteers positioned themselves behind different screens, then she was invited to predict which screens hid volunteers by seeing their aura above. She stated that she saw an aura over all ten screens, but people were behind only four of the screens.
A dowser, Forrest Bayes, claimed that he could detect water in a bottle inside a sealed cardboard box. He was shown twenty boxes and asked to indicate which boxes contained a water bottle. He selected eight of the boxes, which he said contained water, but it turned out that only five of the twenty contained water. Of the eight selected boxes, only one was revealed to contain water and one contained sand. It was not revealed whether any of the remaining six boxes contained water.
A psychometric psychic, Sharon McLaren-Straz, claimed to be able to receive personal information about the owner of an object by handling the object itself. In order to avoid ambiguous statements, the psychic agreed to be presented with both a watch and a key from each of twelve different people. She was to match keys and watches to their owners. According to the prior agreement, she had to match at least nine out of the twelve sets, but she succeeded in only two.
Professional crystal healer Valerie Swan attempted to use ESP to identify 250 Zener cards, guessing which of the five symbols was on each one. Random guessing should have resulted in about fifty correct guesses, so it was agreed in advance that Swan had to be right on at least eighty-two cards in order to demonstrate an ability greater than chance. However, she was able to get only fifty predictions correct, which is no better than random guessing.
James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF)
In 1996, Randi established the James Randi Educational Foundation. Randi and his colleagues publish in JREF's blog, Swift. Topics have included the interesting mathematics of the one-seventh area triangle, a classic geometric puzzle. In his weekly commentary, Randi often gave examples of what he considered the nonsense that he dealt with every day.
Beginning in 2003, the JREF annually hosted The Amaz!ng Meeting, a gathering of scientists, skeptics, and atheists. The last meeting was in 2015, coinciding with Randi's retirement from the JREF.
2010s
Randi began a series of conferences known as "The Amazing Meeting" (TAM) which quickly became the largest gathering of skeptics in the world, drawing audiences from Asia, Europe, South America, and the UK. It also attracted a large percentage of younger attendees. Randi was regularly featured on many podcasts, including The Skeptics Society's official podcast Skepticality and the Center for Inquiry's official podcast Point of Inquiry. From September 2006 onwards, he occasionally contributed to The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast with a column called "Randi Speaks". In addition, The Amazing Show was a podcast in which Randi shared various anecdotes in an interview format.
In 2014, Part2Filmworks released An Honest Liar, a feature film documentary, written by Tyler Measom and Greg O'Toole, and directed and produced by Measom and Justin Weinstein. The film, which was funded through Kickstarter, focuses on Randi's life, his investigations, and his relationship with longtime partner José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga), to whom he was married in 2013. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, at Toronto's Hot Docs film festival, and at the June 2014 AFI Docs Festival in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., where it won the Audience Award for Best Feature. It also received positive reviews from critics. The film was featured on the PBS Independent Lens series, shown in the U.S. and Canada, on March 28, 2016.
In December 2014, Randi flew to Australia to take part in “An Evening with James Randi” tour, organized by Think Inc. This tour included a screening of An Honest Liar followed by a "fireside chat" with Randi on stage. Cities visited were Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. MC in Adelaide was Dr. Paul Willis with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC in Perth was Jake Farr-Wharton with Richard Saunders interviewing Randi. MC for Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney was Richard Saunders with Lawrence Leung interviewing Randi.
In 2017, Randi appeared in animated form on the website Holy Koolaid, in which he discussed the challenge of finding the balance between connecting sincerely with his audience and at the same time tricking/fooling them with an artful ruse, and indicated that this is a balance with which many magicians struggle.
One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge
The James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone able to demonstrate a supernatural ability under scientific testing criteria agreed to by both sides. Based on the paranormal challenges of John Nevil Maskelyne and Houdini, the foundation began in 1996, when Randi put up $1,000 of his own money payable to anyone who could provide objective proof of the paranormal. The prize money grew to $1,000,000, and had formal published rules. No one progressed past the preliminary test, which was set up with parameters agreed to by both Randi and the applicant. He refused to accept any challengers who might suffer serious injury or death as a result of the testing.
On April 1, 2007, it was ruled that only persons with an established, nationally recognized media profile and the backing of a reputable academic were allowed to apply for the challenge, in order to avoid wasting JREF resources on frivolous claimants.
On Larry King Live, March 6, 2001, Larry King asked claimed medium Sylvia Browne if she would take the challenge and she agreed. Randi appeared with Browne on Larry King Live six months later, and she again appeared to accept his challenge. However, according to Randi, she ultimately refused to be tested, and the Randi Foundation kept a clock on its website recording the number of weeks since Browne allegedly accepted the challenge without following through, until Browne's death in November 2013.
During a subsequent appearance on Larry King Live on June 5, 2001, Randi challenged Rosemary Altea, another claimed medium, to undergo testing for the million dollars, but Altea refused to address the question. Instead Altea replied only, "I agree with what he says, that there are many, many people who claim to be spiritual mediums, they claim to talk to the dead. There are many people, we all know this. There are cheats and charlatans everywhere." On January 26, 2007, Altea and Randi again appeared on the show, and Altea again refused to answer whether or not she would take the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge.
In October 2007, claimed psychic John Edward appeared on Headline Prime, hosted by Glenn Beck. When asked if he would take "the Amazing Randi's" challenge, Edward responded, "It's funny. I was on Larry King Live once, and they asked me the same question. And I made a joke [then], and I'll say the same thing here: why would I allow myself to be tested by somebody who's got an adjective as a first name?" Beck simply allowed Edward to continue, ignoring the challenge.
Randi asked British businessman Jim McCormick, the inventor of the bogus ADE 651 bomb detector, to take the challenge in October 2008. Randi called the ADE 651 "a useless quack device which cannot perform any other function than separating naive persons from their money. It's a fake, a scam, a swindle, and a blatant fraud. Prove me wrong and take the million dollars." There was no response from McCormick. According to Iraqi investigators, the ADE 651, which was corruptly sold to the Baghdad bomb squad, was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians who died as a result of terrorist bombs which were not detected at checkpoints. On April 23, 2013, McCormick was convicted of three counts of fraud at the Old Bailey in London; he was subsequently sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for his part in the ADE 651 scandal, which Randi was the first to expose.
A public log of past participants in the Million Dollar Challenge exists.
In 2015, the James Randi paranormal challenge was officially terminated due to Randi's retirement from, and thus lack of direct involvement with, the foundation.
Legal disputes
Randi was involved in a variety of legal disputes, but said that he had "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me." However, he said, he had paid out large sums to defend himself in these suits.
Uri Geller
Randi met magician Uri Geller in the early 1970s, and found Geller to be "Very charming. Likable, beautiful, affectionate, genuine, forward-going, handsome—everything!" But Randi viewed Geller as a con-man, and began a long effort to expose him as a fraud. According to Randi, Geller tried to sue him several times, accusing him of libel. Geller never won, save for a ruling in a Japanese court that ordered Randi to pay Geller one-third of one per cent of what Geller had requested. This ruling was cancelled, and the matter dropped, when Geller decided to concentrate on another legal matter.
In May 1991, Geller sued Randi and CSICOP for $15 million on a charge of slander, after Randi told the International Herald Tribune that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with stunts that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes", referring to the old spoon-bending trick. The court dismissed the case and Geller had to settle at a cost to him of $120,000, after Randi produced a cereal box which bore instructions on how to do the spoon-bending trick. Geller's lawyer Don Katz was disbarred mid-way into this action and Geller ended up suing him. After failing to pay by the deadline imposed by the court, Geller was sanctioned an additional $20,000.
Geller sued both Randi and CSICOP in the 1980s. CSICOP argued that the organization was not responsible for Randi's statements. The court agreed that including CSICOP was frivolous and dropped them from the action, leaving Randi to face the action alone, along with the legal costs. Geller was ordered to pay substantial damages, but only to CSICOP.
Other cases
In 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore found Randi liable for defaming Eldon Byrd for calling him a child molester in a magazine story and a "shopping market molester" in a 1988 speech. However, the jury found that Byrd was not entitled to any monetary damages after hearing testimony that he had sexually molested and later married his sister-in-law. The jury also cleared the other defendant in the case, CSICOP.
Late in 1996, Randi launched a libel suit against a Toronto-area psychic named Earl Gordon Curley. Curley had made multiple objectionable comments about Randi on Usenet. Despite suggesting to Randi on Usenet that Randi should sue—Curley's comments implying that if Randi did not sue, then his allegations must be true—Curley seemed entirely surprised when Randi actually retained Toronto's largest law firm and initiated legal proceedings. The suit was eventually dropped in 1998 when Earl Curley died at the age of 51 of "alcohol toxicity."
Allison DuBois, on whose life the television series Medium was based, threatened Randi with legal action for using a photo of her from her website in his December 17, 2004, commentary without her permission. Randi removed the photo and subsequently used a caricature of DuBois when mentioning her on his site, beginning with his December 23, 2005, commentary.
Sniffex, producer of a dowsing bomb detection device, sued Randi and the JREF in 2007 and lost. Sniffex sued Randi for his comments regarding a government test in which the Sniffex device failed. The company was later investigated and charged with fraud.
Views
Political views
Randi was a registered Democrat. In April 2009, he released a statement endorsing the legalization of most illegal drugs.
Randi had been reported as a believer in Social Darwinist theories, although he would denounce the ideologies and movements that formed around the theories in 2013.
Views on religion
Randi's parents were members of the Anglican Church but rarely attended services. He attended Sunday School at St. Cuthbert's Church in Toronto a few times as a child, but he independently decided to stop going when he was not answered when he asked for proof of the teachings of the Church.
In his essay "Why I Deny Religion, How Silly and Fantastic It Is, and Why I'm a Dedicated and Vociferous Bright", Randi, who identified himself as an atheist, opined that many accounts in religious texts, including the virgin birth, the miracles of Jesus Christ, and the parting of the Red Sea by Moses, are not believable. Randi refers to the Virgin Mary as being "impregnated by a ghost of some sort, and as a result produced a son who could walk on water, raise the dead, turn water into wine, and multiply loaves of bread and fishes" and questions how Adam and Eve "could have two sons, one of whom killed the other, and yet managed to populate the Earth without committing incest". He wrote that, compared to the Bible, "The Wizard of Oz is more believable. And much more fun."
Clarifying his view of atheism, Randi wrote "I've said it before: there are two sorts of atheists. One sort claims that there is no deity, the other claims that there is no evidence that proves the existence of a deity; I belong to the latter group, because if I were to claim that no god exists, I would have to produce evidence to establish that claim, and I cannot. Religious persons have by far the easier position; they say they believe in a deity because that's their preference, and they've read it in a book. That's their right."
In An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural (1995), he examines various spiritual practices skeptically. Of the meditation techniques of Guru Maharaj Ji, he writes "Only the very naive were convinced that they had been let in on some sort of celestial secret." In 2003, he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto.
In a discussion with Kendrick Frazier at CSICon 2016, Randi stated "I think that a belief in a deity is ... an unprovable claim ... and a rather ridiculous claim. It is an easy way out to explain things to which we have no answer." He then summarized his current concern with religious belief as follows: "A belief in a god is one of the most damaging things that infests humanity at this particular moment in history."
Personal life
When Randi hosted his own radio show in the 1960s, he lived in a small house in Rumson, New Jersey, that featured a sign on the premises that read: "Randi—Charlatan".
In 1987, Randi became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Randi said that one reason he became an American citizen was an incident while he was on tour with Alice Cooper, during which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched the band's lockers during a performance, completely ransacking the room, but finding nothing illegal.
In February 2006, Randi underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. The weekly commentary updates to his Web site were made by guests while he was hospitalized. Randi recovered after his surgery and was able to help organize and attend The Amaz!ng Meeting (T.A.M.) in 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, his annual convention of scientists, magicians, skeptics, atheists and freethinkers.
Randi was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in June 2009. He had a series of small tumors removed from his intestines during laparoscopic surgery. He announced the diagnosis a week later at The Amaz!ng Meeting 7, as well as the fact that he was scheduled to begin chemotherapy in the following weeks. He also said at the conference: "One day, I'm gonna die. That's all there is to it. Hey, it's too bad, but I've got to make room. I'm using a lot of oxygen and such—I think it's good use of oxygen myself, but of course, I'm a little prejudiced on the matter."
Randi underwent his final chemotherapy session in December 2009, later saying that his chemotherapy experience was not so unpleasant as he had imagined it might be. In a video posted in April 2010, Randi stated that he had been given a clean bill of health.
In a 2010 blog entry, Randi came out as gay, a move he said was inspired by seeing the 2008 biographical drama film Milk.
Randi married Venezuelan artist José Alvarez (born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga) on July 2, 2013 in Washington. Randi, who had recently moved to Florida, met Alvarez in 1986, in a Fort Lauderdale public library. Arteaga had left his native country for fear of his life, as he was homosexual. The pseudonym Arteaga had taken, Jose Alvarez, was an actual person in the United States. The identity confusion caused the real Alvarez some legal and financial difficulties. Arteaga was arrested for identity theft and faced deportation. They resided in Plantation, Florida.
In the 1993 documentary Secrets of the Psychics, Randi stated, "I've never involved myself in narcotics of any kind; I don't smoke; I don't drink, because that can easily just fuzz the edges of my rationality, fuzz the edges of my reasoning powers, and I want to be as aware as I possibly can. That means giving up a lot of fantasies that might be comforting in some ways, but I'm willing to give that up in order to live in an actually real world, as close as I can get to it".
In a video released in October 2017, Randi revealed that he had recently suffered a minor stroke, and that he was under medical advice not to travel during his recovery, so would be unable to attend CSICon 2017 in Las Vegas later that month.
Randi died at his home on October 20, 2020, at the age of 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation attributed his death to "age-related causes". The Center for Inquiry said that Randi "was the public face of skeptical inquiry, bringing a sense of fun and mischievousness to a serious mission." Kendrick Frazier said, as part of the statement, "Despite his ferocity in challenging all forms of nonsense, in person he was a kind and gentle man."
Awards and honors
World records
The following are Guinness World Records:
Randi was in a sealed casket underwater for one hour and 44 minutes, breaking the previous record of one hour and 33 minutes set by Harry Houdini on August 5, 1926.
Randi was encased in a block of ice for 55 minutes.
Bibliography
Companion book to the Open Media/Granada Television series.
(Online version)
Television and film appearances
As an actor
Good to See You Again, Alice Cooper (1974) as the Dentist/Executioner
Ragtime (1981) (stunt coordinator: Houdini)
Penn & Teller's Invisible Thread (1987) (TV)
Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) as the 3rd Rope Holder
Beyond Desire (1994) as the Coroner
Appearing as himself
Wonderama (1959–1967) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
I've Got a Secret (1965) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Sesame Street Test Show 1 (1969) (TV) as The Amazing Randi
Happy Days – "The Magic Show" (1978) as the Amazing Randi
Zembla, 'De trucs van Char' (The tricks Char uses). (March 2008)
ZDF German TV (2007)
Wild Wild Web (1999)
West 57th (1980s)
Welt der Wunder – Kraft der Gedanken (January 2008)
Today (many appearances)
The Don Lane Show (Australia)
That's My Line (1981) (Appeared with James Hydrick)
The View (ABC) multiple appearances 1997 onwards
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (32 appearances between 1973 and 1993 plus repeats)
The Secret Cabaret (produced by Open Media for Channel 4 in the UK)
The Power of Belief (October 6, 1998) (ABC News Special) (TV)
People are Talking (1980s)
The Patterson Show (1970s)
Superpowers? (an Equinox documentary made by Open Media for Channel 4 in 1990)
After Dark (September 3, 1988 and September 9, 1989)
Weird Thoughts, Open Media discussion hosted by Tony Wilson for BBC TV, with Mary Beard and others, 1994
The Art of Magic (1998) (TV)
The Ultimate Psychic Challenge (Discovery Channel/Channel 4) (2003)
Spotlight on James Randi (2002) (TV)
Secrets of the Super Psychics (Channel 4/The Learning Channel), produced by Open Media, 1997/8
Scams, Schemes, and Scoundrels (A&E Special) (March 30, 1997)
RAI TV Italy (1991)
Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! several appearances
"End of the World" (2003) TV Episode
"ESP" (2003) TV Episode
"Signs from Heaven" (2005) TV Episode
The Oprah Winfrey Show 2 episodes
Lawrence Leung's Unbelievable (Australia) TV Episode
Nova: "Secrets of the Psychics" (1993)
Mitä ihmettä? (Finland) (2003) TV Series
Midday (Australia) (1990s)
Magic or Miracle? (1983) TV special
Magic (2004) (mini) TV Series
Larry King Live (CNN) (June 5, 2001, September 3, 2001, January 26, 2007, several more)
James Randi: Psychic Investigator (1991) (Open Media series for the ITV network)
James Randi Budapesten – Hungarian documentary
Inside Edition – (1991, 2006, and 2007) TV
Horizon – "Homeopathy: The Test" (2002) BBC/UK TV Episode
Dead Men Talking (The Biography Channel) (2007)
Fornemmelse for snyd (2003) TV Series (also archive footage) Denmark
Extraordinary People – "The Million Dollar Mind Reader" (September 2008).
Exploring Psychic Powers ... Live (June 7, 1989; hosted by Bill Bixby)
CBS This Morning (1990s)
Anderson Cooper 360°, CNN (January 19, 2007, and January 30, 2007)
A Question of Miracles (HBO) (1999)
20/20 (ABC) (May 11, 2007)
An Honest Liar (2014, aired as Exposed: Magicians, Psychics and Frauds on BBC Storyville)
Appearances in other media
Dynamite magazine: Randi was featured as the cover story for the November 1981 issue.
In 2007, Randi delivered a talk at TED in which he discussed psychic fraud, homeopathy, and his foundation's Million Dollar Challenge.
Randi is featured in Tommy Finke's song "Poet der Affen/Poet of the Apes" released on the album of the same name in 2010.
See also
List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
Pigasus Award
Robert Todd Carroll's Skeptic's Dictionary
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Wakelet Randi collection
Listings
James Randi in The Skeptic's Dictionary
Media
James Randi interview (May 2009) from the podcast of MagicNewswire.com in which Randi discusses his career in magic, his feud with Uri Geller and more.
James Randi interview (November 2007) from the BSAlert.com radio show where Randi discusses NBC's Phenomenon TV show, the current status of Uri Geller and his thoughts about whether society is becoming more or less superstitious.
"20 Major Aspects of Liars, Cheats, and Frauds" by James Randi
1928 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American writers
20th-century atheists
20th-century Canadian writers
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century atheists
American humanists
American magicians
American skeptics
American atheism activists
Articles containing video clips
Canadian atheists
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian humanists
Canadian magicians
Canadian skeptics
Critics of alternative medicine
Critics of parapsychology
Escapologists
Florida Democrats
Canadian gay writers
Historians of magic
LGBT magicians
LGBT writers from the United States
MacArthur Fellows
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Paranormal investigators
People from Plantation, Florida
People from Rumson, New Jersey
Writers from Toronto
| false |
[
"Cornelius Sheehan (31 May 1889 – 21 February 1950) was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-back with the Cork senior hurling team. He was an All-Ireland Championship winner in 1919.\n\nCareer\n\nSheehan began his hurling career at club level with Redmonds. He enjoyed a lengthy career with the club, however, and won Cork Senior Championship titles as captain in 1915 and 1917.\n\nAt inter-county level, Sheehan first played for the Cork senior hurling team on 3 July 1910. He was a regular member of the team over much of the following decade and won four Munster Championship medals, including one as captain. The highlight of Sheehan's inter-county career was the winning of an All-Ireland Championship medal in 1919 after a defeat of Dublin in the final. He played his last game for Cork on 28 May 1922 in what was the opening round of the delayed 1921 championship.\n\nOn 21 February 1950, Sheehan died from bronchitis aged 60.\n\nHonours\n\nRedmonds\nCork Senior Hurling Championship (2): 1915 (c), 1917 (c)\n\nCork\nAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (1): 1919\nMunster Senior Hurling Championship (4): 1912, 1915 (c), 1919, 1920\n\nReferences\n\n1887 births\n1950 deaths\nRedmond's hurlers\nCork inter-county hurlers\nAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winners\nHurling backs",
"James Islington (born ) is an Australian author best known for his high fantasy series The Licanius Trilogy.\n\nCareer\nPrior to becoming a writer, Islington ran a tech startup. Though he always liked the idea of becoming an author, he only began writing seriously at the age of 30. Islington originally self-published The Shadow of What Was Lost in 2014. He signed a deal with Orbit Books less than a year later. He has published two sequel novels, entitled An Echo of Things to Come (2017) and The Light of All That Falls (2019). Islington stated that writing the second novel was much more stressful than writing his debut novel, in part because of the increased pressure that comes from being signed by a major publishing company.\n\nThe Shadow of What Was Lost received moderately positive reviews. Some critics praised the novel's complex magic, political intrigue, and large cast of characters, while others criticized the unoriginal premise while still complimenting the author's prose. The second book, An Echo of Things to Come, has received positive reviews which described it as a \"dense, suspenseful adventure\", as well as \"gripping [yet] overelaborate\".\n\nBibliography\nThe Licanius Trilogy\nThe Shadow of What Was Lost. (4 August 2014). Originally self-published, later Orbit Books. \nAn Echo of Things to Come. (22 August 2018). Orbit. \nThe Light of All That Falls. (10 December 2019). Orbit.\n\nPersonal life\nIslington was born and raised in Victoria, Australia. He and his wife live on the Mornington Peninsula. They have two children.\n\nReferences\n\n21st-century Australian male writers\nAustralian fantasy writers\nLiving people\nYear of birth uncertain"
] |
[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life"
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
|
What was interesting about his personal life?
| 1 |
What was interesting about Lenny Bruce's personal life?
|
Lenny Bruce
|
In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
|
In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.
|
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American memoirists
Accidental deaths in California
American anti-fascists
American humorists
American male comedians
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people of English-Jewish descent
American sailors
American satirists
American social commentators
American stand-up comedians
Beat Generation people
Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Censorship in the arts
Comedians from New York (state)
Critics of religions
Critics of the Catholic Church
Drug-related deaths in California
Freedom of speech in the United States
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish anti-fascists
Military personnel from New York (state)
Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy
People from Bellmore, New York
People from Greenwich Village
People from Mineola, New York
People who have received posthumous pardons
Philles Records artists
Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy
Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons
Religious controversies in stand-up comedy
Social critics
Free speech activists
Stand-up comedy controversies
United States Merchant Mariners
United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy sailors
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"\"Trail in Life\" is a song written and recorded by Canadian country music artist Dean Brody. It was released in October 2010 as the third single to his 2010 album Trail in Life. The song reached number 81 on the Canadian Hot 100 in early 2011.\n\nContent\nThe narrator is a man who wonders what happened to his teenage mother who gave him up for adoption.\n\nReception\nRoughstock critic Matt Bjorke called it a \"beautifully written and sung song that recalls Garth Brooks’ \"What She's Doing Now\" in some parts but is a much, much more interesting song in that the verses discuss different parts of the narrator's life, from that first love to that college best friend to his life as an adopted child in a loving family.\" He goes on to call it \"personal and intimate.\"\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Jeth Weinrich and premiered in November 2010. The music video was filmed in Manhattan and Montauk, New York, the video also features scenes set at Long Island’s Deep Hollow Ranch.\n\nChart positions\n\nReferences\n\n2010 singles\nDean Brody songs\nOpen Road Recordings singles\n2010 songs\nSongs written by Dean Brody\nCanadian Country Music Association Single of the Year singles\nCanadian Country Music Association Songwriter(s) of the Year winners",
"Vincent Desmond is a Lagos-based Nigerian LGBTQ advocate, and writer. He is also the chief-editor and publisher of A Nasty Boy fashion magazine, founded by Richard Akuson, a Nigerian journalist and lawyer in February 2017.\n\nVincent has written for print and online magazines. He was previously a writer at BellaNaija and an editor at Zikoko, a youth culture publication in Nigeria.\n\nPersonal life \nDesmond is openly gay.\n\nIn 2020, he shared his view on childbirth and parenting on his micro blogging site; “my beef with having kids is that I think having kids is an inherently very selfish thing. Selfish on the part of the parents because you’re bringing in a whole human and forcing them to live and participate in life and society. And for what? Bragging rights? Because you feel it’s time\"\n\nAwards \nIn 2020, he was awarded the Young Trailblazer of the Year by TIERS Nigeria.\n\nIn 2021, he was listed among \"The 150 Most Interesting Nigerians in Culture in 2019\" by RED Media Africa, and was nominated for The Future Awards Africa Prize For Leading Conversation.\n\nReferences \n\nLiving people\nLGBT rights activists from Nigeria\n21st-century Nigerian writers\nLGBT writers from Nigeria\n1999 births"
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"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas."
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How long were they married?
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How long were Bruce and Harlow married?
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Lenny Bruce
|
In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
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In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.
|
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American memoirists
Accidental deaths in California
American anti-fascists
American humorists
American male comedians
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people of English-Jewish descent
American sailors
American satirists
American social commentators
American stand-up comedians
Beat Generation people
Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Censorship in the arts
Comedians from New York (state)
Critics of religions
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Drug-related deaths in California
Freedom of speech in the United States
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Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons
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| true |
[
"This is a list of long marriages. It includes marriages extending over at least 80 years.\n\nBackground\nA study by Robert and Jeanette Lauer, reported in the Journal of Family Issues, conducted on 40 sets of spouses married for at least 50 years, concluded that the long-term married couples received high scores on the Lock-Wallace marital satisfaction test and were closely aligned on how their marriages were doing. In a 1979 study on about 55 couples in marriages with an average length of 55.5 years, couples said their marriages lasted so long because of mutual devotion and special regard for each other. Couples who have been married for a long time have a lower likelihood of divorcing because \"common economic interests and friendship networks increase over time\" and during stress can assist in sustaining the relationship.\n\nAnother study found that people in long marriages are wedded to the idea of \"marital permanency\" in which \"They don't see divorce as an option\". Sociologist Pepper Schwartz, AARP's relationships authority, said that it was helpful to have a spouse who is quick to recover when there are surprises in life.\n\nA study of 1,152 couples who had been married for over 50 years found that they attributed their long marriages to faith in each other, love, ability to make concessions, admiration for each other, reliance on each other, children, and strong communication. Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research found that 7% of American marriages last at least 50 years.\n\nRecording longest marriages\nThe longest marriage recorded (although not officially recognized) is a granite wedding anniversary (90 years) between Karam and Kartari Chand, who both lived in the United Kingdom, but were married in India. Karam and Kartari Chand married in 1925 and died in 2016 and 2019 respectively.\n\nGuinness World Records published its first edition in 1955. In the 1984 to 1998 editions, the longest recorded marriages were between Temulji Bhicaji Nariman and Lady Nariman, and Lazarus and Mary Rowe according to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, both of them spanning 86 years. Guinness has since recognized couples with longer marriage spans, with the current world record holders being Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher. Guinness also keeps record of the oldest married couple by aggregate age.\n\nOther organizations have created events where they honor couples with long marriages. In 2011, World Marriage Encounter (WME), an American organization that was responsible for making a World Marriage Day, created a Longest Married Couple Project (LMCP), where they pick a couple with a long marriage and honor them on Valentine's Day. They have since expanded the awards to representatives in each of the 50 states, although the candidates selected are not necessarily the ones with record-setting marriages. Starting in 2004, the Louisiana Family Forum (LFF) has honored its own annual list of long-time married couples in that particular state, beginning with George and Germaine Briant. Irving (107) and Dorothy Black (103) of Queens, NY were married November 10, 1940. They are now the 2nd longest married couple in the United States.\n\nList of marriages reported to be more than 80 years\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nLists of people by marital status\nMarriages\nLongest-duration things",
"Pillow Talk (simplified Chinese: 再见单人床) is a Singaporean Chinese drama which will be telecast on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It stars Joanne Peh, Pierre Png, Thomas Ong, Michelle Chia and Jacelyn Tay of this series. This drama serial was retelecast on every weekday except Thursday & Friday at 3.30 pm.\n\nSynopsis\nHow exactly are men different from women? How exactly does being in love differ from being married?\n\nA couple tied the knot because they yearned to wed. The bride's parents divorced three days after her marriage because they had tolerated each other to breaking point after their long years of marriage.\n\nThis drama paints the married life of four wedded couples: a pair of newly-weds enjoying nuptial bliss; a couple married for seven years struggling for survival in the midst of establishing their careers and raising children, and whose marriage is showing cracks yet they are clueless about managing the strained relationship; a middle-aged couple married for decades who try but fail to change each other's ways, and who long to end their marriage to gain freedom but eventually realising that they are inseparable; an old loving couple who bicker to spice up their lives, and having understood the essence of marriage, manage their monotonous married life with wisdom.\n\nApart from exploring the meaning of marriage, the drama provides tips to preserve a marriage in a light-hearted manner. By educating through entertainment, viewers learn to appreciate that as \"Home is not a place to reason, but to love\", it is an art to maintain a relationship and that the true meaning of marriage hinges on patience, wisdom and love. How exactly are men different from women? How exactly does being in love differ from being married?\n\nProduction\nMars vs Venus's Chinese name is 幸福双人床 (literally Lucky Double Bed), whereas this drama's is 再见单人床, which translates to \"Seeing the Single Bed again\". 再见单人床 can also be interpreted as saying goodbye to the single bed, implying one is going to get married. \n\nThis drama was planned to have 20 episodes, but added an episode due to overruns in filming.\n\nCast\n\nSpecial appearances\n\nOverseas broadcast\n\nAwards and nominations\nPillow Talk is nominated in nine categories, and won the year's Best Drama Serial.\n\nStar Awards 2013\n\nSee also\n List of programmes broadcast by Mediacorp Channel 8\n List of Pillow Talk (TV series) episodes\n\nReferences\nJoanne Peh is the celeb blogger on the Pillow Talk posts.\n\nSingapore Chinese dramas\n2012 Singaporean television series debuts\nChannel 8 (Singapore) original programming"
] |
[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized."
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
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Did he remarry?
| 3 |
Did Bruce every remarry?
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Lenny Bruce
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In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American memoirists
Accidental deaths in California
American anti-fascists
American humorists
American male comedians
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people of English-Jewish descent
American sailors
American satirists
American social commentators
American stand-up comedians
Beat Generation people
Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Censorship in the arts
Comedians from New York (state)
Critics of religions
Critics of the Catholic Church
Drug-related deaths in California
Freedom of speech in the United States
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish anti-fascists
Military personnel from New York (state)
Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy
People from Bellmore, New York
People from Greenwich Village
People from Mineola, New York
People who have received posthumous pardons
Philles Records artists
Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy
Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons
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Social critics
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United States Merchant Mariners
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"Anne Louise, Duchess of Noailles (1632–22 May 1697), was a French courtier. She served as dame d'atour to the queen dowager of France, Anne of Austria, from 1657 until 1666.\n\nThe daughter of Antoine Boyer, Lord of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Louise married Anne de Noailles, who became the first Duke of Noailles in 1646. He predeceased her, dying on 15 February 1678. She did not remarry and died on 22 May 1697.\n\nShe had two notable children:\nAnne Jules de Noailles, 2nd Duke of Noailles (1650–1708) and Marshal of France, married Marie-Françoise de Bournonville.\nLouis Antoine de Noailles, cardinal de Noailles (1651–1729), never married.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\n1632 births\n1697 deaths\n17th-century French women\nFrench duchesses\nDuchesses of Noailles\nHouse of Noailles\nFrench ladies-in-waiting\nCourt of Louis XIV",
"Hard Promises is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Martin Davidson. It stars Sissy Spacek and William Petersen.\n\nPlot\nA man who dislikes stable work environments has been away for too many years when he finds out that his wife had divorced him and is planning to remarry. He comes home to confront her, trying to persuade her not to get married, aided by their daughter, who loves him despite his wandering ways. The couple finds out they still have feelings for each other but must decide how best to handle the contradiction of their lifestyles.\n\nCast\n\nCritical reception\nVincent Canby of The New York Times did not care for the film but did praise some of the actors:\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1991 films\n1990s romantic comedy films\nAmerican films\nAmerican romantic comedy films\nColumbia Pictures films\nEnglish-language films\nFilms directed by Martin Davidson\nFilms scored by George S. Clinton\nFilms set in Texas\nFilms shot in Texas\n1991 comedy films"
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[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.",
"Did he remarry?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
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Why did they divorce?
| 4 |
Why did Bruce and Harlow divorce?
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Lenny Bruce
|
In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
|
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s.
|
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
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"Colasterion (from the Greek word for \"instrument of punishment\" or \"house of correction\") was published by John Milton with his Tetrachordon on 4 March 1645. The tract is a response to an anonymous pamphlet attacking the first edition of The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce. Milton makes no new arguments, but harshly takes to task the \"trivial author\".\n\nBackground\n\nMilton married in Spring 1642, and shortly after, his wife Marie Powell, left him and returned to live with her mother. The legal statutes of England did not allow for Milton to apply for a divorce and he resorted to promoting the lawfulness of divorce. Although the laws did not change, he wrote four tracts on the topic of divorce, with The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce as his first tract. The first tract was created during a time of humiliation, and Milton was motivated towards writing on the topic after reading the work of Martin Bucer on divorce. Although it is impossible to know why exactly Powell separated from Milton, it is possible that Powell's family, a strong royalist family, caused a political difference that was exacerbated by the English Civil War.\n\nDuring the time of composing the tracts, Milton attempted to pursue another woman known only as Miss Davis, but this resulted in failure. He continued to pursue the topic until his wife returned to him and they were to reconcile. This reconciliation could have come in part from the failure of the royalists, including Powell's family, to prevail during the English Civil War and lacking justification to further distance themselves from Milton. According to George Thomason, an early collector of English Civil War tracts, Colasterion was published on 4 March 1645 along with Tetrachordon.\n\nTract\nColasterion is a personal response to the anonymous pamphlet An Answer to a Book, Intituled, The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce, or, A Pleas for Ladies and Gentlewomen, and all other Married Women against Divorce (1644). The work contains many insults against the anonymous author, including \"wind-egg\", \"Serving-man\", and \"conspicuous gull\". In the tract, Milton promotes an idea of separation, and, in his situation, a separation from his previous wife.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n Miller, Leo. John Milton among the Polygamophiles. New York: Loewenthal Press, 1974.\n Milton, John. Complete Prose Works of John Milton Vol II ed. Don Wolfe. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1959.\n Patterson, Annabel. \"Milton, Marriage and Divorce\" in A Companion to Milton. Ed. Thomas Corns. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.\n\nWorks by John Milton\n1645 books",
"The relationship between religion and divorce is complicated and varied. Different religions have different perceptions of divorce. Some religions accept divorce as a fact of life, while others only believe it is right under certain circumstances like adultery. Also, some religions allow remarriage after divorce, and others believe it is inherently wrong. This article attempts to summarize these viewpoints of major world religions and some important traditions regarding divorce in each faith.\n\nChristianity\n\nThe great majority of Christian denominations affirm that marriage is intended as a lifelong covenant, but vary in their response to its dissolubility through divorce. The Catholic Church treats all consummated sacramental marriages as permanent during the life of the spouses, and therefore does not allow remarriage after a divorce if the other spouse still lives and the marriage has not been annulled. However, divorced Catholics are still welcome to participate fully in the life of the church so long as they have not remarried against church law, and the Catholic Church generally requires civil divorce or annulment procedures to have been completed before it will consider annulment cases. Annulment is not the same as divorce - it is a declaration that the marriage was never valid to begin with. Other Christian denominations, including the Eastern Orthodox Church and many Protestant churches, will allow both divorce and remarriage even with a surviving former spouse, at least under certain conditions. For example, the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, in its 2014 Discipline, teaches:\n\nIn societies that practised Puritanism, divorce was allowed if one partner in the marriage was not completely satisfied with the other, and remarriage was also allowed. The Church of England also took an indissolublist line until 2002, when it agreed to allow a divorced person to remarry in church during a former spouse's lifetime under \"exceptional circumstances.\"\n\nBible commentary on divorce comes primarily from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and the epistles of Paul. Jesus taught on the subject of divorce in three of the Gospels, and Paul gives a rather extensive treatment of the subject in his First Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 7: \"Let not the wife depart from her husband...let not the husband put away his wife\" (1 Corinthians 7:10-11), but he also includes the Pauline privilege. He again alludes to his position on divorce in his Epistle to the Romans, albeit an allegory, when he states \"For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth. . . . So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress\" (Romans 7:2-3).\n\nIn , and , Jesus came into conflict with the Pharisees over divorce concerning their well-known controversy between Hillel and Shammai about —as evidenced in Nashim Gittin 9:10 of the Mishnah. Do Jesus’ answers to the Pharisees also pertain to Christians? Are Christians who adopt these teachings Judaizers? The differences in opinions about these questions usually arise over whether Jesus opposed the Law of Moses or just some of the viewpoints of the Pharisees, and whether Jesus just addressed a Jewish audience or expanded his audience to include Christians, for example \"all nations\" as in the Great Commission.\n\nSince Deuteronomy 24:1-4 did not give Jewish women the right to directly initiate a divorce (See Agunah), did Jesus' answers \"in the house\" to his disciples expand the rights of women or did they merely acknowledge that some Jewish women, such as Herodias who divorced Herod Boethus, were wrongfully taking rights because Jewish women were being assimilated by other cultures? (See , .) In other words, did Jesus confine his remarks to the Pharisaical questions, and did he appeal to his own authority by refuting the oral authority of the Pharisees with the formula \"You have heard...But I say to you\" in ? Expressions used by Jesus such as \"you have heard\", \"it hath been said\", \"it is written\", \"have you never read\", \"keep the commandments\", \"why do you break the commandments with your traditions?\" and \"what did Moses Command you?\" seem to indicate that Jesus generally respected the Hebrew Bible and sometimes opposed Pharisaical Opinions. He was critical of the Pharisees.\n\nBuddhism\nBuddhism has no religious concept of marriage (see Buddhist view of marriage). In Buddhism, marriage is a secular affair, subject to local customs.\n\nIslam\n\nAccording to the Quran, marriage is intended to be unbounded in time, but when marital harmony cannot be attained, the Quran allows the spouses to bring the marriage to an end (2:231). Divorce in Islam can take a variety of forms, some initiated by the husband and some initiated by the wife. The main traditional legal categories are talaq (repudiation), khulʿ (mutual divorce), judicial divorce and oaths. The theory and practice of divorce in the Islamic world have varied according to time and place. Historically, the rules of divorce were governed by sharia, as interpreted by traditional Islamic jurisprudence, and they differed depending on the legal school. Historical practice sometimes diverged from legal theory. In modern times, as personal status (family) laws were codified, they generally remained \"within the orbit of Islamic law\", but control over the norms of divorce shifted from traditional jurists to the state.\n\nJudaism\nJudaism has always accepted divorce as a fact of life, though an unfortunate one. Judaism generally maintains that it is better for a couple to divorce than to remain together in a state of bitterness and strife. It is said that shalom bayit (domestic harmony) is a desirable state.\n\nLegal procedures\nIn general, it is accepted that for a Jewish divorce to be effective the husband must hand to the wife, and not vice versa, a bill of divorce called a get, while witnesses observe. Although the get is mainly used as proof of the divorce, sometimes the wife will tear the get to signal the end of the marriage and to ensure it is not reused. However, from ancient times, the get was considered to be very important to show all those who needed to have proof that the woman was in fact free from the previous marriage and free to remarry. In Jewish law, besides other things, the consequences of a woman remarrying and having a child while still legally married to another is profound: the child would be a mamzer, an \"estranged person\" to be avoided. Also, the woman would be committing adultery should she remarry while still legally married to another. An enactment called Herem de-Rabbenu Gershom (the proscription of Gershom ben Judah, accepted universally throughout European Jewish communities), prohibited a husband from divorcing his wife against her will.\n\nIn halakha (Jewish law), divorce is an act of the parties to the marriage, which is different from the approach adopted by many other legal systems. That is, a Jewish divorce does not require a decree from a court. The function of the court, in the absence of agreement between the parties, is to decide whether the husband should be compelled to give the get or for the wife to accept the get. But, notwithstanding any such ruling, the parties remain married until such time as the husband actually delivers the get.\n\nJewish law, in effect, does not require proof or even an allegation of moral or other fault by either party. If both parties agree to a divorce and follow the prescribed procedure, then the court would not need to establish responsibility for the marriage break-down. In this sense it is a \"no-fault\" approach to divorce.\n\nA woman who has been refused a get is typically referred to as an \"agunah\". Where pre-nuptial agreements are enforceable in civil courts, appropriate provisions may be made to compel the giving of the get by the husband in the event of a civil divorce being obtained. However, this approach has not been accepted universally, particularly by the Orthodox.\n\nA wife can initiate a divorce process on several grounds (including lack of satisfaction in her sexual life). However, this right extends only so far as petitioning a court to force her husband to divorce her.\n\nOne part of the complex process of divorce in Judaism, is the creation of the get itself. The get is crafted with great care and responsibility in order to ensure that no mistakes create consequences in the future. For example, exactly twelve lines are written in permanent ink telling the names of both parties, place, and time of the divorce. Because of the danger of the birth of mamzerim if the process is not performed properly, and because divorce law is extraordinarily complex, the process is generally supervised by experts.\n\nPhilosophical approaches\n\nFrom the philosophical and mystical point of view, divorce is a unique procedure of tremendous importance and complexity, because it nullifies the holiest of connections that can exist in the Universe (similar to a connection between a person and God).\n\nIn some Jewish mythologies, Adam had a wife before Eve named Lilith who left him. The earliest historically documentation of this legend appears in the 8th-10th centuries Alphabet of Ben Sira. Whether this particular tradition is older is not known.\n\nOthers\n\nWicca\nThe Wiccan equivalent of a divorce is described as a handparting. Wiccans traditionally see either a high priest or high priestess to discuss things out before a divorce. However a handfasting (marriage) that falls apart peacefully does not necessarily need a handparting.\n\nUnitarian Universalism\nIn Unitarian Universalism, because they affirm the \"right of conscience\", divorce is allowed and should be a decision by the individual person and is seen as ending a rite of passage. Such divorces have sometimes taken the form of divorce rituals as far back as the 1960s. Divorces are largely seen as a life choice.\n\nHinduism\nIn Hinduism Divorce and Remarriage is allowed. Arthashastra which is one of the sastras in Hinduism says:\n\nA woman, hating\nher husband, can not dissolve her marriage with him against his\nwill. Nor can a man dissolve his marriage with his wife against her\nwill. But from mutual enmity, divorce may be obtained\n(parasparam dveshánmokshah). If a man, apprehending danger\nfrom his wife desires divorce (mokshamichhet), he shall return to\nher whatever she was given (on the occasion of her marriage). If a\nwoman, under the apprehension of danger from her husband,\ndesires divorce, she shall forfeit her claim to her property\n\nReferences \n\nhttp://www.bibleissues.org, https://web.archive.org/web/20091027092358/http://geocities.com/dcheddie/divorce1.html, http://students.eng.fiu.edu/~denver/divorce1.html\n\nFurther reading\n Amato, Paul R. and Alan Booth. A Generation at Risk: Growing Up in an Era of Family Upheaval. Harvard University Press, 1997. and . Reviews and information at \n Gallagher, Maggie. \"The Abolition of Marriage.\" Regnery Publishing, 1996. .\n Lester, David. \"Time-Series Versus Regional Correlates of Rates of Personal Violence.\" Death Studies 1993: 529–534.\n McLanahan, Sara and Gary Sandefur. Growing Up with a Single Parent; What Hurts, What Helps. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994: 82.\n Morowitz, Harold J. \"Hiding in the Hammond Report.\" Hospital Practice August 1975; 39.\n Office for National Statistics (UK). Mortality Statistics: Childhood, Infant and Perinatal, Review of the Registrar General on Deaths in England and Wales, 2000, Series DH3 33, 2002.\n U.S. Bureau of the Census. Marriage and Divorce. General US survey information. \n U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Survey of Divorce (link obsolete).\n\nDivorce\nDivorce\nDivorce"
] |
[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.",
"Did he remarry?",
"I don't know.",
"Why did they divorce?",
"He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s."
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
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What other aspects of his personal life are notable?
| 5 |
Aside from the affair, what other aspects of Bruce's personal life are notable?
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Lenny Bruce
|
In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
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As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material.
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Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
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20th-century American comedians
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Accidental deaths in California
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American people convicted of drug offenses
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Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
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"Arvi Siig (8 November 1938 – 23 November 1999) was an Estonian poet, translator and journalist. He was a member of the CPSU and a communist, but still critical of many aspects of the political aspects of his day. His poetry inspired later punk poets and many of his texts are used as lyrics by the Estonian alternative rock band Vennaskond. He was among the first to include modern urban themes in Estonian poetry, also giving a voice to prostitutes, including Soviet prostitutes. The creators of the award-winning computer RPG Disco Elysium, Robert Kurvitz and Aleksander Rostov hailed Siig as inspiration and the greatest Estonian poet when accepting the president's Young Cultural Figure award in 2020: \"Without his modernism, Elysium - the world the game is placed in - would not be half of what it is.\"\n\nPersonal life \nArvi Siig married a Russian cultural journalist Valentina Siig, who published her memories about him after his death.\n\nReferences \n\n1938 births\n1999 deaths\nEstonian male poets\n20th-century Estonian poets\nMembers of the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic\nTallinn University alumni\nUniversity of Tartu alumni\nPeople from Tallinn",
"The national symbols of Ukraine include a variety of official and unofficial symbols and other items that are used in Ukraine to represent what is unique about the nation, reflecting different aspects of its cultural life and history.\n\nSymbols\n\nReferences"
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"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.",
"Did he remarry?",
"I don't know.",
"Why did they divorce?",
"He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s.",
"What other aspects of his personal life are notable?",
"As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material."
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
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What was his performance like?
| 6 |
What was Bruce's performance like?
|
Lenny Bruce
|
In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
|
spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school.
|
Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American memoirists
Accidental deaths in California
American anti-fascists
American humorists
American male comedians
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people of English-Jewish descent
American sailors
American satirists
American social commentators
American stand-up comedians
Beat Generation people
Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Censorship in the arts
Comedians from New York (state)
Critics of religions
Critics of the Catholic Church
Drug-related deaths in California
Freedom of speech in the United States
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish anti-fascists
Military personnel from New York (state)
Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy
People from Bellmore, New York
People from Greenwich Village
People from Mineola, New York
People who have received posthumous pardons
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Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons
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Social critics
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Stand-up comedy controversies
United States Merchant Mariners
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| true |
[
"\"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" is a song written and recorded by American country singer-songwriter Bill Anderson. It was released as a single in December 1958 via Decca Records and became a major hit. A similar version was released by American country artist Ray Price the same year via Columbia Records.\n\nBill Anderson version\n\"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" was recorded at the Bradley Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The sessions were produced by Owen Bradley, who would serve as Anderson's producer through most of years with Decca Records.\n\n\"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" was released as a single by Decca Records in December 1958. It spent a total of 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country and Western Sides chart before reaching number 12 in February 1959. It became Anderson's first major hit as a music artist and his first charting record. It was not first released on a proper album. However, seven years later, it appeared on his compilation From This Pen.\n\nTrack listings\n7\" vinyl single<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Anderson -- That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" (1958, Vinyl) |url=https://www.discogs.com/Bill-Anderson-Thats-What-Its-Like-To-Be-Lonesome-The-Thrill-Of-My-Life/release/14241289 |website=Discogs |accessdate=21 July 2020}}</ref>\n \"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" – 2:30\n \"The Thrill of My Life\" – 2:25\n\nChart performance\n\nRay Price version\n\n\"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" was recorded at the Columbia Studio, located in Nashville, Tennessee. The sessions were produced by Don Law.\n\n\"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" was released as a single by Columbia Records in December 1958. It spent a total of 19 weeks on the Billboard'' Hot Country and Western Sides chart before reaching number 7 in February 1959. It was one of many top ten hits for Price on the Columbia label and was followed by several number one hits as well. It was not first released on a proper album.\n\nTrack listings\n7\" vinyl single\n \"That's What It's Like to Be Lonesome\" – 2:44\n \"Kissing Your Picture Is So Cold\" – 2:39\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\n1958 singles\n1958 songs\nBill Anderson (singer) songs\nDecca Records singles\nColumbia Records singles\nSong recordings produced by Owen Bradley\nSongs written by Bill Anderson (singer)\nRay Price (musician) songs",
"\"This Is What It Feels Like\" is a song by Dutch DJ and record producer Armin van Buuren, featuring Canadian singer, songwriter and former soulDecision frontman Trevor Guthrie, released in the Netherlands by Armada Music on 29 April 2013 as the second single from van Buuren's fifth studio album, Intense (2013).\n\n\"This Is What It Feels Like\" peaked at number three on the Dutch Top 40. Outside the Netherlands, \"This Is What It Feels Like\" peaked within the top ten of the charts in ten countries, including Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom.\n\nThe song was written by Armin van Buuren, Benno de Goeij, Jenson Vaughan, Trevor Guthrie and John Ewbank. Van Buuren wrote the instrumental with de Goeij and Ewbank in 2012. Trevor Guthrie wrote the lyrics with Jenson Vaughan, and it was inspired by Guthrie's neighbour who was diagnosed with a brain tumor. \"This Is What It Feels Like\" was nominated for the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. The song was featured in the intro for a 2019 episode of America's Got Talent.\n\nMusic video\nA music video to accompany the release of \"This is What It Feels Like\" was first released onto YouTube on 17 March 2013. The video also features a guest appearance by Ron Jeremy. As of September 2017, it has received over 100 million views, making it the fifth most viewed video on Armada Music's YouTube channel.\n\nTrack listing\n Digital downloads\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" – 3:25\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (extended mix) – 5:16\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (W&W remix) – 6:16\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (David Guetta remix) – 5:28\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (Antillas and Dankann remix) – 5:44\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (Antillas and Dankann radio edit) – 3:34\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (Giuseppe Ottaviani remix) – 6:38\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (Giuseppe Ottaviani radio edit) – 3:55\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (John Ewbank classical remix) – 3:12\n UK CD single\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" – 3:25\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (extended mix) – 5:16\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (W&W remix) – 6:16\n \"Waiting for the Night\" – 3:03\n German CD single\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" – 3:25\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (David Guetta remix) – 5:28\n\n Maddix remix\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (Maddix remix) – 3:50\n \"This Is What It Feels Like\" (Maddix extended mix) – 4:50\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly charts\n\nYear-end charts\n\nCertifications\n\nRelease history\n\nJason Benoit version\n\n\"This Is What It Feels Like\" was covered by Canadian country music artist Jason Benoit and released through Sky Hit Records, under license to Sony Music Canada, as Benoit's debut single on 10 September 2013. His rendition reached number 46 on the Billboard Canada Country chart. It received positive reviews for Benoit's \"strong vocal performance\" was also included on the compilation album, Country Heat 2014.\n\nMusic video\nAn official lyric video was uploaded to Benoit's Vevo channel on 4 October 2013.\n\nChart performance\n\nReferences\n\n2013 singles\n2013 songs\nArmin van Buuren songs\nArmada Music singles\nJuno Award for Dance Recording of the Year recordings\nSongs written by Armin van Buuren\nSongs written by Benno de Goeij\nSongs written by Jenson Vaughan\nSongs written by Trevor Guthrie\nTrevor Guthrie songs"
] |
[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.",
"Did he remarry?",
"I don't know.",
"Why did they divorce?",
"He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s.",
"What other aspects of his personal life are notable?",
"As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material.",
"What was his performance like?",
"spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
|
How long did he perform at the strip club for?
| 7 |
How long did Bruce perform at the strip club for?
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Lenny Bruce
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In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American memoirists
Accidental deaths in California
American anti-fascists
American humorists
American male comedians
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people of English-Jewish descent
American sailors
American satirists
American social commentators
American stand-up comedians
Beat Generation people
Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Censorship in the arts
Comedians from New York (state)
Critics of religions
Critics of the Catholic Church
Drug-related deaths in California
Freedom of speech in the United States
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish anti-fascists
Military personnel from New York (state)
Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy
People from Bellmore, New York
People from Greenwich Village
People from Mineola, New York
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Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons
Religious controversies in stand-up comedy
Social critics
Free speech activists
Stand-up comedy controversies
United States Merchant Mariners
United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War
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[
"Walter Berndt (November 22, 1899, – August 15, 1979, ) was a cartoonist known for his comic strip, Smitty, which he drew for 50 years.\n\nBiography \nBernt's job as an office boy at the New York Journal , which he took on after dropping out of high school in Brooklyn, put him in contact with leading cartoonists, as he recalled,\n\nFishing for ideas\nEd Black wrote about the method E. C. Segar and Berndt used to generate cartoon ideas:\nSegar did another strip in the 1920s, but not on his own volition. One of his friends at the New York Journal was Walter Berndt who would in 1922 create the daily and Sunday Smitty strip for the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate (under the aegis of the legendary Capt. Joseph Patterson), a feature destined to run for years. Both liked fishing. Berndt was doing a two-column strip called Then the Fun Began, inherited from Milt Gross. Both Segar and Berndt would finish their work by noon then steal away to an old pier on the Jersey side and spend the afternoon fishing and thinking up ideas. \"We'd finish the day with a bunch of fish and about 15 or 20 ideas each,\" Berndt once said.\n\nThen the Fun Began was appearing as early as March 3, 1919. When Berndt left that strip on October 13, 1921, it was taken over by Fred Faber, who continued it until 1928.\n\nOrigins of Smitty\nBerndt's first strip, That's Different, drawn for the Bell Syndicate, lasted less than a year. In 1922, he created Smitty, which he continued until 1973, working with his assistant Charles Mueller. Yet it did not begin without a struggle, as cartoonist Mike Lynch described in a 2005 lecture:\nAfter a stint drawing sports cartoons under T.A. \"Tad\" Dorgan (If you look at Walter Berndt's signature, you can see he draws his \"T\" just like Tad did), he took over the And the Fun Begins panel from Milt Gross. By 1920 Berndt had left the Journal to start his own strip. The strip lasted a year. Then he worked at the New York World. But, within weeks, he was fired for insubordination. (I tried to find out more about this, but this is all I know.) Berndt was out of work and broke. So, with zany cartoonist timing, he got married! And then he began making the rounds with a new strip titled Billy the Office Boy. It was 1922. The World Series was on. Big news, and so no one could get near the editors. Berndt couldn't get in to see anyone. Segar said there wasn't a World Series in Chicago and suggested he send the proposal to Captain Patterson. So Berndt mailed the strip to the Chicago Tribune. Patterson, opening a phone book for reference, renamed it Smitty and bought it at Berndt's high asking price. The strip became a mainstay, with the adventures of Smitty and Herby continuing for over 50 years.\n\nHe also produced the comic strip Herby, a topper strip of Smitty, from 1938 through 1960.\n\nIn 1937, Berndt moved to Port Jefferson, Long Island, where he lived until his death at age 79. He died on Monday, August 15, 1979, at Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson,\n\nAwards\nBerndt won the Reuben Award for 1969 for Smitty.\n\nLegacy: The Berndt Toast Gang\n\nThe Berndt Toast Gang, named in honor of Walter Berndt, is a group of Long Island cartoonists who meet on the last Thursday of each month, as explained by cartoonist Lee Ames:\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\nStrickler, Dave. Syndicated Comic Strips and Artists, 1924-1995: The Complete Index. Cambria, California: Comics Access, 1995.\n\nExternal links \n Lambiek Comiclopedia\nThe Ohio State University Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database\n\n1899 births\n1979 deaths\nAmerican comic strip cartoonists\nAmerican comics writers\nChicago Tribune people\nArtists from Brooklyn\nPeople from Port Jefferson, New York\nReuben Award winners",
"Frank and Ernest is an American comic strip created and illustrated by Bob Thaves and later Tom Thaves. It debuted on November 6, 1972, and has since been published daily in over 1,200 newspapers. The humor of the comic is based almost exclusively on wordplay and puns.\n\nRegardless of the topic, everything related to the topic (background and phrases) is shown in a single frame in the daily strips. Frank and Ernest has a tradition of breaking new ground. It was the first strip to use digital coloring for its Sunday strips and the first strip in over 1,000 newspapers to list the creator's email address. 1997 was a ground-breaking year: first interactive comics based on strips published in the newspaper, first keyword searchable archive for a comic strip and the first 3-D characters.\n\nThe strip is distributed to Spanish-speaking countries as Justo y Franco.\n\nCharacters and story\nIn a non-sequential story, the main characters are seen not just as humans but as animals, vegetables, minerals and more. A constant element has been word play, including the characters' names. Frank is both a name and a synonym for honest. The name Ernest is a homophone of the word earnest, which is a synonym for serious. Weekday strips are laid out in one long panel with one joke or pun; the Sunday strip is similarly in one large block, with a series of rapid-fire puns pertaining to the characters (usually in character as various characters including, but not limited to, the planets, \"Robotics Department,\" or \"Malaprop Man\"). Example: U.S. Postal Dept. Stamp Design Office: \"The department decided to have a religious message on our next stamp. How about: 'Lord, deliver us'?\"\n\nUnlike most syndicated comic strip cartoonists, Bob Thaves did not write all of the gags for the strip (nor maintain a pretense that he did) and openly solicited gags in publications such as Writer's Market. Bob Thaves died on August 1, 2006. His son, Tom Thaves, has since taken over production of the strip.\n\nAwards\nThaves won the National Cartoonists Society's Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1983, 1984, and 1986 for his work on the strip. Other awards include the Mencken Award for Free Speech and designation as a Champion of Creativity by the American Creativity Association in 2006.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial site\nFrank and Ernest at gocomics.com\n Justo y Franco at GoComics\nFrank and Ernest at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016.\nNCS Awards\n\n1972 comics debuts\nAmerican comics characters\nAmerican comic strips\nComics characters introduced in 1972\nComic strip duos\nGag-a-day comics\nGag cartoon comics"
] |
[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.",
"Did he remarry?",
"I don't know.",
"Why did they divorce?",
"He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s.",
"What other aspects of his personal life are notable?",
"As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material.",
"What was his performance like?",
"spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school.",
"How long did he perform at the strip club for?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
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Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
| 8 |
Aside from Bruce's career, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
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Lenny Bruce
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In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
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The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines:
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Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American memoirists
Accidental deaths in California
American anti-fascists
American humorists
American male comedians
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people of English-Jewish descent
American sailors
American satirists
American social commentators
American stand-up comedians
Beat Generation people
Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Censorship in the arts
Comedians from New York (state)
Critics of religions
Critics of the Catholic Church
Drug-related deaths in California
Freedom of speech in the United States
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish anti-fascists
Military personnel from New York (state)
Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy
People from Bellmore, New York
People from Greenwich Village
People from Mineola, New York
People who have received posthumous pardons
Philles Records artists
Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy
Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons
Religious controversies in stand-up comedy
Social critics
Free speech activists
Stand-up comedy controversies
United States Merchant Mariners
United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy sailors
| true |
[
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.",
"Did he remarry?",
"I don't know.",
"Why did they divorce?",
"He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s.",
"What other aspects of his personal life are notable?",
"As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material.",
"What was his performance like?",
"spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school.",
"How long did he perform at the strip club for?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines:"
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
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What were his new routines?
| 9 |
What were Bruce's new routines?
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Lenny Bruce
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In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
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performing his own ever-evolving material.
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Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
[CC-By-SA]
Audio/video
Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
1925 births
1966 deaths
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American memoirists
Accidental deaths in California
American anti-fascists
American humorists
American male comedians
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people of English-Jewish descent
American sailors
American satirists
American social commentators
American stand-up comedians
Beat Generation people
Burials at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery
Censorship in the arts
Comedians from New York (state)
Critics of religions
Critics of the Catholic Church
Drug-related deaths in California
Freedom of speech in the United States
Jewish American male comedians
Jewish anti-fascists
Military personnel from New York (state)
Obscenity controversies in stand-up comedy
People from Bellmore, New York
People from Greenwich Village
People from Mineola, New York
People who have received posthumous pardons
Philles Records artists
Race-related controversies in stand-up comedy
Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons
Religious controversies in stand-up comedy
Social critics
Free speech activists
Stand-up comedy controversies
United States Merchant Mariners
United States Merchant Mariners of the Korean War
United States Navy personnel of World War II
United States Navy sailors
| false |
[
"In organisational theory, organisational routines are “repetitive, recognizable patterns of interdependent actions carried out by multiple actors”. \n\nIn evolution and evolutionary economics routines serve as social replicators – mechanisms that help to maintain organisational behaviors and knowledge. In the theory of organisational learning, routines serve as a sort of memory, especially of uncodified, tacit knowledge. In strategic management, especially in the resource-based view of firms, organisational routines form the microfoundations of organisational capabilities and dynamic capabilities. \n\nDespite the extensive usage of the routines concept in the research literature, there is still much debate about organisational routines. For example, scholars see them both as a source of stability and as a driver of organisational change. In an attempt to better understand the “inside” of organisational routines, Pentland and Feldman offered the distinction between the ostensive and performative aspects of routines. The latter refers to the actual actions performed by actors, while the former often refers to some abstract “script” that represent that routines more abstractly. Cohen and Bacdayan showed that from a cognitive perspective, routines are stored as procedural memory (and not declarative, for example), and hence it is not likely that there is script that codifies routines. In contrast, some scholars have likened routines to grammars of actions.\n\nFoundation of routines\n\nCarnegie School \nThe concept of organisational routines can be linked to the Carnegie School.\n\n In this regard, Dewey's (1922) work construed habits as a form of reflective action and as major driver of individual and collective behaviour. \n In later years, Stene (1940) described organisational routines as interaction patterns that are pertinent for the coordination of organisational activities and differentiated them from actions that are preceded by decision making. \n According to Simon, individual's ideas are boundedly rational and organizations are rational systems wherein coordination and resolution of conflict is necessary. He also contended that organisational routines develop to save time and attention during the analysis and making of decisions. Such routines are combined with performance programs that enable organisations to respond to the changes in the environment. The standard rules and behavioural patterns bring about effective organisational decision-making processes as they reinforce search issues, conflict resolution and environment adaptation.\n\nNelson and Winter book \nThe cognitive underpinnings of organisational behaviour of the Carnegie School were underpinned by the aspects of emotion and habit. To this end, Nelson and Winter's book entitled “An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change”, dated 1982 is considered as the top influential work dedicated to routines and reveals the efforts of the authors in providing a deeper explanation of organisational behaviour that goes against traditional assumptions of neoclassical economics. In this book, routines are defined as regular and predictable firm patterns and the authors proposed that they act like biological genes as they are heritable and selectable by the environment. As such, they provide the basis of the organisation's evolutionary change (e.g. production or implementation) as opposed to knowing how to choose (e.g. deliberation, alternative selection or modification). \n\nOn the other hand, capabilities are described as the various things that a firm can do at any point in time and is a term that is synonymously used with routines. Individual skills were employed by Nelson and Winter to explain routines in that they suggested that routines coordinated behaviours that function smoothly. Routines are considered as performance targets that offer mechanisms for control and platforms for replication. They are also repository of organisational memory within organisations as organisations keep track of specific routines by specific individuals as a reaction to distinct stimulus. According to Nelson and Winter, routines contextual basis lies on skills, organizations and technology that are combined in a single functioning routines.\n\nRoutines are also the basis for change in that innovation refers to the new combinations of existing routines. In other words, the notion of routines is expanded beyond the simple procedures and programs. Added to this, it drew work from the capabilities perspective by introducing a firm-specific, path-dependent concept of routines that stresses on their complexity and underlies their influence on the differences in performance. Despite the fact that it is grounded in evolutionary economics and hence paying minimal focus on individual agency in routines, significant number of ideas remains aligned with the practice perspective.\n\nMoreover, Nelson and Winter expected the recent focus on endogenous change in routines when they contended that routine operation is aligned with routinely arising laxity, slippage, rule-breaking, defiance and sabotage. However, ambiguities still arise concerning the intentionality of routines and the level to their stability and change, where some scholars addressed the behavioural regularities of routines and their habitual nature, specifically bringing forward that they are mindlessly conducted until they are disturbed by an external change. This is aligned with the notion of routines as heuristics and simple rule of thumb to tackle daily decisions.\n\nWeick and Roberts approach \nIn relation to this, Weick and Roberts adopted a cognitive approach by explaining that tacit coordination and heedful interrelationships in activity systems of routines stem from a collective mind and the shared consensus of the way tasks are completed and each individual's role indicates an innate and distinct view of routines.\n\nThis argument was countered by Pentland who contended that the performance of routines require individuals’ selection of an action from a list of actions where the performance outcome is thought to be effortful achievements. Pentland's work is the basis for the practice perspective as it pays attention to the daily actions related with distinct routines.\nOn the basis of such basic understanding, organisational routines refer to the repetitive patterns of interdependent organisational actions – a definition aligned with the foundations of routines and with the capabilities and practice perspectives emerging from this work with differing focus. On one hand, the capabilities perspective is based on the organisational economics point of view where routines are considered as a black box and is focused on accomplishing organisational goals and on the other hand, the practice perspective is based on organisational theory where the black box processes are emphasized.\n\nThe Concept of Routines\n\nRoutine is based on the premise of patterns developed by activities over time. Despite this premise, there is still confusion on the actual meaning of activity. The literature analysis presented by Becker is consistent with the routines definition as the recurrent interaction of patterns and it stresses on the collective nature of routines rather than the individual nature of habits. Routines are core to the economic and business phenomena owing to their roles in the organisation.\n\nOrganizational roles \nRoutines have several organisational roles:\n\n routines coordinate and control. Coordination is when the simultaneity of action is enabled after which it leads to regularity, consistency and predictability and it can easily change into control. \n Routines also reflect a truce in that they are developed on a micro-political stability that enables their free functioning. Nelson and Winter explained that such an aspect of routines have been largely ignored although it is crucial in terms of evolutionary theory outcomes. Without such truce, the explanation behind the disturbing interference in the routine environment and their stability will be lacking. \n Routines are major mechanisms in economizing on bounded cognitive resources by freeing up such resources on the greater awareness levels via the relegation of repetitive decisions to be tackled through semi-conscious mechanisms. Attention is focused on the exceptional events rather than the repetitive ones, and as such, the search is guided by experience and in this way, routines significantly contribute to the actor's ability to handle uncertainty. \n Routines assist in handling uncertainty with two mechanisms underlying this potential namely, the freeing up of mental resources through relegation of activities, and setting up a specific predictability of other participants via the constraints of setting. \n Routines can create inertia, driven by cognitive sunk costs but this does not necessarily mean there is no potential for variations and\n Routines do not have to result in inertia as it can also result in stability. This function is ignored in favour of the pathological condition ‘inertia’. The stability provision plays a key role in learning as it allows comparison. Therefore, routines have a role in the provision of stability and the implementation of change. It is generally important to acknowledge them as having enabling as opposed to limiting roles. \n Rutines are combined with other routines, and such can urge other routines – a trigger could be made up of aspiration levels.\n Routines represent knowledge like tacit knowledge and knowledge in action. Such embodiment is sensitive to specific levels of interruptions in the routine exercise. \n We may distinguish between operational routines and strategic or dynamic routines which guide organisational search and change. In this latter respect, there are clear links with the literature on dynamic capabilities (see Douma & Schreuder, 2013).\n\nCharacteristics of Routines\n\nDeveloping an argument on the basis of the above contention that routines are recurrent interaction patterns, literature characterizes routines as repetitive by virtue of recurrence, persistent, leading to predictability, interaction patterns having a collective nature, interplay of collective patterns constituting a whole out of different routines parts. \n\nIn other words, routines in organisations constitute collective action that integrates distributed action elements. Routines are also self-actuating and they do not need voluntary deliberation and owing to this characteristic, problems are removed from the conscious influence and cognitive resources are freed up for deliberative action when dealt with routines. Moreover, routines are processual phenomenon, they are context dependent, specific and they can only be transferred to a limited level. In this regard, successful routines application depends on the context specificities where there exist complementarities between routines and context.\n\nIt is possible to alleviate specificity but not to neutralize it through standardisation. Routines can be transferred to various contexts in a limited manner indicating that they can reflect local optimum solutions but not global best solutions. History shapes routines and they are dependent on the path. Such path-dependent routines clarifies their involvement with mutually dependent forces that positively or negatively provides feedback between them and has no pre-defined ending to which they meet. To this end, changes will most probably be incremental and developed on prior state and hence, being an insider to the routine history makes a difference in comprehending its present form.\n\nMetaphors about routines \n\nRegardless of the several variant interpretations and conceptualizations of routines taking place, some generic attributes have been attached to the role which routines possess. Routines have been described to act as central repositories of organisational knowledge and to provide the building blocks of organisational capabilities and change\n\n Cyert and March used a metaphor of routines as performance programs, \n Nelson and Winter portray routines as habits or skills of an organization \n Routines allow certain type of performance to be repeated, however as they adapt to the changes provided by their environment, routines rather paradoxically are seen to provide both stability and change inside organizations \n Another analogy often quoted to describe routines as facilitating firm actions is “routines as genes”\n\n At the organisational level of analysis, Nelson and Winter introduced a wide variety of metaphors for routines: routines as genes, routines as memory, routines as truce, routines as targets for control, replication, and imitation 3. Each of these metaphors portrays a routine as a kind of thing\n\n Another view of routines is as a set of possibilities that can be described as grammars. The grammatical approach attempts to look at the inside of routines. Selecting and performing a routine is an effortful accomplishment. It is not a single pattern but, rather, a set of possible patterns from which organisational members enact particular performances that are functionally similar but not necessarily the same. Routines can be described by a grammar that explains the regular patterns in a variety of behaviors. In the same way as English grammar allows speakers to produce a variety of sentences; an organisational routine allows members to produce a variety of performances. Thus a routinized activity is not mindless or automatic, but rather an effortful accomplishment within certain boundaries.\n\nReferences\n\nNelson, R. R., S. G. Winter. 1982. An Evolutionary Theory of Eco- nomic Change. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.\nLevitt, B., J. G. March. 1988. Organisational learning. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 14 319–340.\nCohen, M. D., P. Bacdayan. 1994. Organisational routines are stored as procedural memory: Evidence from a laboratory study. Organ. Sci. 5(4) 554–568.\nhttp://www.routinedynamics.org/publications/4586509721\nBecker, M. C. 2005. The concept of routines: Some clarifications. Cambridge J. Econom. 29(2) 249–262.\nHoward-Grenville, J. A. 2005. The persistence of flexible Organisational routines: The role of agency and Organisational context. Organ. Sci. 16(6) 618–636.\nDouma, S. & H. Schreuder, Economic Approaches to Organizations, Pearson/FT, 2013\n\nOrganizational behavior",
"Thomas Knoll is an American software engineer who created Adobe Photoshop. He initiated the development of image processing routines in 1988. After Knoll created the first core routines, he showed them to his brother, John Knoll, who worked at Industrial Light and Magic. John liked what he saw, suggested new features, and encouraged Tom to bundle them into a package with a graphical user interface. In 1988, John sold the distribution license for Photoshop to Adobe Systems and later on March 31, 1995, he sold the rights to the program to Adobe for $34.5 million.\n\nThomas Knoll was the lead developer until version CS4, and currently contributes to work on the Camera Raw plug-in to process raw images from cameras.\n\nKnoll was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Michigan.\n\nAt the 2019 Oscars, Thomas and his brother John were awarded a Scientific and Engineering Award for the original architecture, design and development of Photoshop.\n\nReferences\n\nAdobe Photoshop\nComputer graphics professionals\nLiving people\nAmerican software engineers\nPeople from Ann Arbor, Michigan\nUniversity of Michigan College of Engineering alumni\nYear of birth missing (living people)"
] |
[
"Lenny Bruce",
"Personal life",
"What was interesting about his personal life?",
"In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas.",
"How long were they married?",
"In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized.",
"Did he remarry?",
"I don't know.",
"Why did they divorce?",
"He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s.",
"What other aspects of his personal life are notable?",
"As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material.",
"What was his performance like?",
"spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school.",
"How long did he perform at the strip club for?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines:",
"What were his new routines?",
"performing his own ever-evolving material."
] |
C_bde6fa1924234f399674744a805129f9_1
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Did he have any children?
| 10 |
Did Bruce ever have any children?
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Lenny Bruce
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In 1951, Bruce met his future wife, Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined to have her end her work as a stripper. Bruce and Harlow eventually left New York City in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles, California. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time. Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, his job was to introduce the strippers while performing his own ever-evolving material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to Bruce's primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school." Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. CANNOTANSWER
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Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955.
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Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, freestyle and critical form of comedy which contained satire, politics, religion, sex, and vulgarity. His 1964 conviction in an obscenity trial was followed by a posthumous pardon in 2003.
Bruce paved the way for counterculture-era comedians. His trial for obscenity is a landmark for freedom of speech in the United States. In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him third (behind Richard Pryor and George Carlin) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.
Early life
Lenny Bruce was Jewish, born Leonard Alfred Schneider, in Mineola, New York. He grew up in nearby Bellmore, and attended Wellington C. Mepham High School. His parents divorced before he turned 10, and he lived with various relatives over the next decade. His British-born father, Myron (Mickey) Schneider, was a shoe clerk, and the two saw each other very infrequently. Bruce's mother, Sally Marr (legal name Sadie Schneider, born Sadie Kitchenberg), was a stage performer and had an enormous influence on Bruce's career.
After spending time working on a farm, Bruce joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 in 1942, with active service during World War II aboard the in Northern Africa; Palermo, Italy, in 1943; and Anzio, Italy, in 1944. In May 1945, after a comedic performance for his shipmates in which he was dressed in drag, his commanding officers became upset. He defiantly convinced his ship's medical officer that he was experiencing homosexual urges. This led to his undesirable discharge in July 1945. However, he had not admitted to or been found guilty of any breach of naval regulations and successfully applied to have his discharge changed to "Under Honorable Conditions ... by reason of unsuitability for the naval service".
During the Korean War era, Bruce served in the United States Merchant Marine, ferrying troops from the US to Europe and back. In 1959, while taping the first episode of Hugh Hefner's Playboy's Penthouse, Bruce talked about his Navy experience and showed a tattoo he received in Malta in 1942.
After a short period living with his father in California, Bruce settled in New York City, hoping to establish himself as a comedian. However, he found it difficult to differentiate himself from the thousands of other show-business hopefuls who populated the city. One locale where they congregated was Hanson's, the diner where Bruce first met the comedian Joe Ancis, who had a profound influence on Bruce's approach to comedy. Many of Bruce's later routines reflected his meticulous schooling at the hands of Ancis. According to Bruce's biographer Albert Goldman, Ancis's humor involved stream-of-consciousness sexual fantasies and references to jazz.
Bruce took the stage as "Lenny Marsalle" one evening at the Victory Club, as a stand-in master of ceremonies for one of his mother's shows. His ad-libs earned him some laughs. Soon afterward, in 1947, just after changing his last name to Bruce, he earned $12 and a free spaghetti dinner for his first stand-up performance in Brooklyn. He was later a guest—and was introduced by his mother, who called herself "Sally Bruce"—on the Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts radio program. Lenny did a piece inspired by Sid Caesar, "The Bavarian Mimic", featuring impressions of American movie stars (e.g., Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson).
Career
Bruce's early comedy career included writing the screenplays for Dance Hall Racket in 1953, which featured Bruce, his wife Honey Harlow, and mother Sally Marr; Dream Follies in 1954, a low-budget burlesque romp; and a children's film, The Rocket Man, in 1954. In 1956, Frank Ray Perilli, a fellow nightclub comedian who eventually became a screenwriter of two dozen successful films and plays, became a mentor and part-time manager of Bruce. Through Perilli, Bruce met and collaborated with photojournalist William Karl Thomas on three screenplays (Leather Jacket, Killer's Grave and The Degenerate), none of which made it to the screen, and the comedy material on his first three comedy albums.
Bruce was a roommate of Buddy Hackett in the 1950s. The two appeared on the Patrice Munsel Show (1957–1958), calling their comedy duo the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", twenty years before the cast of Saturday Night Live used the same name. In 1957, Thomas booked Bruce into the Slate Brothers nightclub, where he was fired the first night for what Variety headlined as "blue material"; this led to the theme of Bruce's first solo album on Berkeley-based Fantasy Records, The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, for which Thomas shot the album cover. Thomas also shot other album covers, acted as cinematographer on abortive attempts to film their screenplays, and in 1989 authored a memoir of their ten-year collaboration titled Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet. The 2016 biography of Frank Ray Perilli titled The Candy Butcher, devotes a chapter to Perilli's ten-year collaboration with Bruce.
Bruce released a total of four albums of original material on Fantasy Records. These albums were later compiled and re-released as The Lenny Bruce Originals. Two later records were produced and sold by Bruce himself, including a 10-inch album of the 1961 San Francisco performances that started his legal troubles. Starting in the late 1960s, other unissued Bruce material was released by Alan Douglas, Frank Zappa and Phil Spector, as well as Fantasy. Bruce developed the complexity and tone of his material in Enrico Banducci's North Beach nightclub, the "hungry i", where Mort Sahl had earlier made a name for himself.
Branded a "sick comic", Bruce was essentially blacklisted from television, and when he did appear thanks to sympathetic fans like Hefner and Steve Allen, it was with great concessions to Broadcast Standards and Practices. Jokes that might offend, like a bit on airplane glue-sniffing teenagers that was done live for The Steve Allen Show in 1959, had to be typed out and pre-approved by network officials. On his debut on Allen's show, Bruce made an unscripted comment on the recent marriage of Elizabeth Taylor to Eddie Fisher, wondering, "Will Elizabeth Taylor become bar mitzvahed?"
In the midst of a severe blizzard, Bruce gave a famous performance at Carnegie Hall at midnight on February 4, 1961. It was recorded and later released as a three-disc set titled The Carnegie Hall Concert. In the posthumous biography about Bruce, Albert Goldman described the night of the concert as follows:
In August 1965, a year before his death, Bruce gave his penultimate performance at San Francisco's Basin Street West, mainly talking about his legal troubles. The filmed performance was released by Rhino Home Video in 1992 as The Lenny Bruce Performance Film.
Personal life
In 1951, Bruce met Honey Harlow, a stripper from Manila, Arkansas. They were married that same year, and Bruce was determined she would
end her work as a stripper. The couple eventually left New York in 1953 for the West Coast, where they got work as a double act at the Cup and Saucer in Los Angeles. Bruce then went on to join the bill at the club Strip City. Harlow found employment at the Colony Club, which was widely known to be the best burlesque club in Los Angeles at the time.
Bruce left Strip City in late 1954 and found work within the San Fernando Valley at a variety of strip clubs. As the master of ceremonies, he introduced the strippers while performing his material. The clubs of the Valley provided the perfect environment for Bruce to create new routines: according to his primary biographer, Albert Goldman, it was "precisely at the moment when he sank to the bottom of the barrel and started working the places that were the lowest of the low" that he suddenly broke free of "all the restraints and inhibitions and disabilities that formerly had kept him just mediocre and began to blow with a spontaneous freedom and resourcefulness that resembled the style and inspiration of his new friends and admirers, the jazz musicians of the modernist school."
Honey and Lenny's daughter Kitty Bruce was born in 1955. Honey and Lenny had a tumultuous relationship. Many serious domestic incidents occurred between them, usually the result of serious drug use. They broke up and reunited over and over again between 1956 and Lenny's death in 1966. They first separated in March 1956, and were back together again by July of that year when they travelled to Honolulu for a night club tour. During this trip, Honey was arrested for marijuana possession. Prevented from leaving the island due to her parole conditions, Lenny took the opportunity to leave her again, and this time kidnapped the then one-year-old Kitty. In her autobiography, Honey claims Lenny turned her in to the police. She would be later sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Throughout the final decade of his life, Bruce was beset by severe drug addiction. He would use heroin, methamphetamine and Dilaudid daily. He suffered numerous health problems and personal strife as a result of his addiction.
He had an affair with the jazz singer Annie Ross in the late 1950s. In 1959, Lenny's divorce from Honey was finalized. At the time of his death, his girlfriend was comedian Lotus Weinstock.
Legal troubles
Bruce's desire to help his wife cease working as a stripper led him to pursue schemes that were designed to make as much money as possible. The most notable was the Brother Mathias Foundation scam, which resulted in Bruce's arrest in Miami, Florida, in 1951 for impersonating a priest. He had been soliciting donations for a leper colony in British Guiana (now Guyana) under the auspices of the "Brother Mathias Foundation", which he had legally chartered—the name was his own invention, but possibly referred to the actual Brother Matthias who had befriended Babe Ruth at the Baltimore orphanage to which Ruth had been confined as a child.
Bruce had stolen several priests' clergy shirts and a clerical collar while posing as a laundry man. He was found not guilty because of the legality of the New York state-chartered foundation, the actual existence of the Guiana leper colony, and the inability of the local clergy to expose him as an impostor. Later, in his semifictional autobiography How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, Bruce said that he had made about $8,000 in three weeks, sending $2,500 to the leper colony and keeping the rest.
Obscenity arrests
On October 4, 1961, Bruce was arrested for obscenity at the Jazz Workshop in San Francisco; he had used the word cocksucker and riffed that "to is a preposition, come is a verb", that the sexual context of come is so common that it bears no weight, and that if someone hearing it becomes upset, he "probably can't come". Although the jury acquitted him, other law enforcement agencies began monitoring his appearances, resulting in frequent arrests under charges of obscenity.
Bruce was arrested again in 1961, in Philadelphia, for drug possession and again in Los Angeles, two years later. The Los Angeles arrest took place in then-unincorporated West Hollywood, and the arresting officer was a young deputy named Sherman Block, who later became County Sheriff. The specification this time was that the comedian had used the word schmuck, an insulting Yiddish term that is an obscene term for penis. The Hollywood charges were later dismissed.
On December 5, 1962, Bruce was arrested on stage at the legendary Gate of Horn folk club in Chicago. That same year, he played at Peter Cook's The Establishment club in London, and in April the next year he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the Home Office as an "undesirable alien".
In April 1964, he appeared twice at the Cafe Au Go Go in Greenwich Village, with undercover police detectives in the audience. He was arrested along with the club owners, Howard and Elly Solomon, who were arrested for allowing an obscene performance to take place. On both occasions, he was arrested after leaving the stage, the complaints again pertaining to his use of various obscenities.
A three-judge panel presided over his widely publicized six-month trial, prosecuted by Manhattan Assistant D.A. Richard Kuh, with Ephraim London and Martin Garbus as the defense attorneys. Bruce and club owner Howard Solomon were both found guilty of obscenity on November 4, 1964. The conviction was announced despite positive testimony and petitions of support from—among other artists, writers and educators—Woody Allen, Bob Dylan, Jules Feiffer, Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, William Styron, and James Baldwin, and Manhattan journalist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen and sociologist Herbert Gans. Bruce was sentenced on December 21, 1964, to four months in a workhouse; he was set free on bail during the appeals process and died before the appeal was decided. Solomon later saw his conviction overturned.
Later years
Despite his prominence as a comedian, Bruce appeared on network television only six times in his life. In his later club performances, he was known for relating the details of his encounters with the police directly in his comedy routine. These performances often included rants about his court battles over obscenity charges, tirades against fascism, and complaints that he was being denied his right to freedom of speech. Bruce was banned outright from several U.S. cities.
In September 1962, his only visit to Australia caused a media storm—although, contrary to popular belief, he was not banned nor was he forced to leave the country. Bruce was booked for a two-week engagement at Aaron's Exchange Hotel, a small pub in central Sydney by the American-born, Australian-based promoter Lee Gordon, who was by then deeply in debt, nearing the end of his formerly successful career, and desperate to save his business. Bruce's first show at 9 p.m. on September 6 was uneventful, but his second show at 11 p.m. led to a major public controversy. Bruce was heckled by audience members during his performance, and when local actress Barbara Wyndon stood up and complained that Bruce was only talking about America, and asked him to talk about something different, a clearly annoyed Bruce responded, "Fuck you, madam. That's different, isn't it?" Bruce's remark shocked some members of the audience and several walked out.
By the next day the local press had blown the incident up into a major controversy, with several Sydney papers denouncing Bruce as "sick" and one even illustrating their story with a retouched photograph appearing to show Bruce giving a fascist salute. The venue owners immediately cancelled the rest of Bruce's performances, and he retreated to his Kings Cross hotel room. Local university students (including future OZ magazine editor Richard Neville) who were fans of Bruce's humor tried to arrange a performance at the Roundhouse at the University of New South Wales, but at the last minute the university's Vice-Chancellor rescinded permission to use the venue, with no reason given and an interview he was scheduled to give on Australian television was cancelled in advance by the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
Bruce remained largely confined to his hotel, but eight days later gave his third and last Australian concert at the Wintergarden Theatre in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Although the theatre had a capacity of 2,100, only 200 people attended, including a strong police presence, and Bruce gave what was described as a "subdued" performance. It was long rumored that a tape recording of Bruce's historic performance was made by police, but it was, in fact, recorded by local jazz saxophonist Sid Powell, who brought a portable tape recorder to the show. The tape was rediscovered in 2011 in the possession of Australian singer Sammy Gaha, who had acted as Bruce's chauffeur during his visit, and it was subsequently donated to the Lenny Bruce audio collection at Brandeis University. Bruce left the country a few days later and spoke little about the experience afterwards.
Increasing drug use also affected Bruce's health. By 1966, he had been blacklisted by nearly every nightclub in the U.S., as owners feared prosecution for obscenity. He gave a famous performance at the Berkeley Community Theatre in December 1965, which was recorded and became his last live album, titled The Berkeley Concert; his performance here has been described as lucid, clear and calm, and one of his best. His last performance took place on June 25, 1966, at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, on a bill with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The performance was not remembered fondly by Bill Graham, whose memoir describes Bruce as "whacked out on amphetamine;" Graham thought that Bruce finished his set emotionally disturbed. Zappa asked Bruce to sign his draft card, but the suspicious Bruce refused.
At the request of Hefner and with the aid of Paul Krassner, Bruce wrote an autobiography. Serialized in Playboy in 1964 and 1965, this material was later published as the book How to Talk Dirty and Influence People. During this time, Bruce also contributed a number of articles to Krassner's satirical magazine The Realist.
Death and posthumous pardon
On August 3, 1966, Bruce was found dead in the bathroom of his Hollywood Hills home at 8825 W. Hollywood Blvd. The official photo, taken at the scene, showed Bruce lying naked on the floor, a syringe and burned bottle cap nearby, along with various other narcotics paraphernalia. Record producer Phil Spector, a friend of Bruce, bought the negatives of the photographs "to keep them from the press". The official cause of death was "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose".
Bruce's remains were interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California, but an unconventional memorial on August 21 was controversial enough to keep his name in the spotlight. Over 500 people came to the service to pay their respects, led by Spector. Cemetery officials had tried to block the ceremony after advertisements for the event encouraged attendees to bring box lunches and noisemakers. Delivering the eulogy, which is featured at the end of the documentary Lenny Bruce Without the Tears, the Rev. William Glenesk said:
Lenny Bruce's epitaph reads: "Beloved father—devoted son / Peace at last". Dick Schaap concluded his eulogy to Bruce in Playboy with the words: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene". A memorial event was held at the Judson Memorial Church, New York City on Friday, August 12, which was "packed to overflowing" an hour before it was due to get underway at 6pm, and was attended by prominent members of the arts, many of whom also performed, and included Allen Ginsberg, Joe Lee Wilson, Jean Shepherd, Charlie Haden, and The Fugs; Paul Krassner officiated.
On December 23, 2003, thirty-seven years after Bruce's death, New York Governor George Pataki granted him a posthumous pardon for his obscenity conviction.
Legacy
Bruce was the subject of the 1974 biographical film Lenny, directed by Bob Fosse and starring Dustin Hoffman (in an Academy Award-nominated Best Actor role), and based on the Broadway stage play of the same name written by Julian Barry and starring Cliff Gorman in his 1972 Tony Award–winning role. In addition, the main character's editing of a fictionalized film version of Lenny was a major part of Fosse's own autobiopic, the 1979 Academy Award–nominated All That Jazz; Gorman again played the role of the stand-up comic.
The documentary Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth, directed by Robert B. Weide and narrated by Robert De Niro, was released in 1998. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2004, Comedy Central listed Bruce at number three on its list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time, placing above Woody Allen (4th) and below Richard Pryor (1st) and George Carlin (2nd). Both comedians who ranked higher than Bruce considered him a major influence; Pryor said that hearing Bruce for the first time "changed my life," while Carlin said that Bruce was a "brilliant comedian" who influenced him as much as a man in his moral thinking and attitudes as he did as a comedian. Carlin was arrested along with Bruce after refusing to provide identification when police raided a Bruce performance.
In popular culture
In 1966, Grace Slick co-wrote and sang the Great Society song "Father Bruce".
Bruce is pictured in the top row of the cover of the Beatles 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
The clip of a news broadcast featured in "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel carries the ostensible newscast audio of Lenny Bruce's death. In another track on the album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, "A Simple Desultory Philippic (or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)," Paul Simon sings, "... I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce, that all my wealth won't buy me health."
Tim Hardin's fourth album Tim Hardin 3 Live in Concert, released in 1968, includes his song Lenny's Tune written about his friend Lenny Bruce.
Nico's 1967 album Chelsea Girl includes a track entitled "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce," which was "Lenny's Tune" by Tim Hardin, with the lyrics slightly altered. In it she describes her sorrow and anger at Bruce's death.
The Stranglers' 1977 song No More Heroes (The Stranglers song) references Lenny Bruce, asking "Whatever happened to dear old Lenny?".
Bob Dylan's 1981 song "Lenny Bruce" from his Shot of Love album describes a brief taxi ride shared by the two men. In the last line of the song, Dylan recalls: "Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had." Dylan has included this song live in concert as recently as November 2019.
Phil Ochs wrote a song eulogizing the late comedian, titled "Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore?" The song is featured on his 1969 album Rehearsals for Retirement.
Australian group Paul Kelly And The Dots' 1982 album Manila features a track named "Lenny (To Live Is to Burn)", which includes a couple clips of Lenny Bruce performing.
R.E.M.'s 1987 song "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" includes references to a quartet of famous people all sharing the initials L.B. with Lenny Bruce being one of them (the others being Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev and Lester Bangs). The opening line of the song mentioning Bruce goes, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds, snakes and aeroplanes; Lenny Bruce is not afraid."
Lenny Bruce appears as a character in Don DeLillo's 1997 novel Underworld. In the novel, Bruce does a stand-up routine about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Genesis' 1974 song "Broadway Melody of 1974" depicts a dystopic New York where "Lenny Bruce declares a truce and plays his other hand, Marshall McLuhan, casual viewin', head buried in the sand" and "Groucho, with his movies trailing, stands alone with his punchline failing."
Jonathan Larson's musical RENT, has a song entitled, La Vie Boheme B, mentioning Lenny Bruce.
Joy Zipper's 2005 album The Heartlight Set features a track named "For Lenny's Own Pleasure".
Nada Surf's song "Imaginary Friends" (from their 2005 album The Weight Is a Gift) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "Lenny Bruce's bug eyes stare from an LP, asking me just what kind of fight I've got in me."
Shmaltz Brewing Company brews a year-round beer called Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. and the tagline is "Brewed with an obscene amount of hops".
Metric's song "On the Sly" (from their 2007 album Grow Up and Blow Away) references Lenny Bruce in its lyrics: "for Halloween I want to be Lenny Bruce".
In the 2014 episode "Comic Perversion" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, fictional comic Josh Galloway says while being arrested, "I would like to dedicate my arrest to Mr. Lenny Bruce. NYPD crucified him, too."
John Mayall's 1969 live album "The turning point" opens with the song "The laws must change", which features the line "Lenny Bruce was trying to tell you many things before he died".
A fictionalized version of the comedian is played by Luke Kirby as a recurring character in the Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, in which he is portrayed as a friend and champion of the titular character. Kirby won an Emmy for his portrayal in 2019.
Bibliography
Bruce, Lenny. Stamp Help Out! (Self-published pamphlet, 1962)
Bruce, Lenny. How to Talk Dirty and Influence People (Playboy Publishing, 1967)
Autobiography, released posthumously. Content previously serialized in Playboy magazine.
By others:
Barry, Julian. Lenny (play) (Grove Press, Inc. 1971)
Bruce, Honey. Honey: The Life and Loves of Lenny's Shady Lady (Playboy Press, 1976, with Dana Benenson)
Bruce, Kitty. The (almost) Unpublished Lenny Bruce (1984, Running Press) (includes transcripts of interviews and routines, ephemera, and a graphically spruced up reproduction of 'Stamp Help Out!')
Cohen, John, ed., compiler. The Essential Lenny Bruce (Ballantine Books, 1967)
Collins, Ronald and David Skover, The Trials of Lenny Bruce: The Fall & Rise of an American Icon (Sourcebooks, 2002)
DeLillo, Don. Underworld, (Simon and Schuster Inc., 1997)
Denton, Bradley. The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians, an award-winning collection of science fiction stories in which the title story has Lenny Bruce as one of the two protagonists.
Goldman, Albert, with Lawrence Schiller. Ladies and Gentlemen – Lenny Bruce!! (Random House, 1974)
Goldstein, Jonathan. Lenny Bruce Is Dead (Coach House Press, 2001)
Josepher, Brian. What the Psychic Saw (Sterlinghouse Publisher, 2005)
Kofsky, Frank. Lenny Bruce: The Comedian as Social Critic & Secular Moralist (Monad Press, 1974)
Kringas, Damian. Lenny Bruce: 13 Days In Sydney (Independence Jones Guerilla Press, Sydney, 2010) A study of Bruce's ill-fated September 1962 tour down under.
Marciniak, Vwadek P., Politics, Humor and the Counterculture: Laughter in the Age of Decay (New York etc., Peter Lang, 2008).
Marmo, Ronnie. I'm Not a Comedian... I'm Lenny Bruce (written/performed by Marmo, directed by Joe Mantegna, 2017)
Smith, Valerie Kohler. Lenny (novelization based on the Barry-scripted/Fosse-directed film) (Grove Press, Inc., 1974)
Thomas, William Karl. Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator. First printing, Archon Books, 1989; second printing, Media Maestro, 2002; Japanese edition, DHC Corp. Tokyo, 2001.
Filmography
Discography
Albums
Posthumous releases
Compilations
The later compilations are released in the European Union under various oldies labels, as the content used is public domain in the EU.
Audiobooks
Tribute albums
See also
List of civil rights leaders
Dirtymouth, a 1970 biographical film about Bruce
Footnotes
References
External links
The Official Lenny Bruce Website
FBI Records: The Vault – Lenny Bruce at fbi.gov
Correspondence and Other Papers Pertaining to Lenny Bruce's Drug Case, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Articles
Linder, Douglas, "The Lenny Bruce Trial: An Account" "Famous Trials: The Lenny Bruce Trial, 1964"
Azlant, Edward. "Lenny Bruce Again", Shecky Magazine, August 22, 2006
Gilmore, John. "Lenny Bruce and the Bunny", excerpt from Laid Bare: A Memoir of Wrecked Lives and the Hollywood Death Trip (Amok Books, 1997).
Harnisch, Larry. "Voices", Los Angeles Times, April 13, 2007. (Reminiscences by saxophonist Dave Pell)
Kaufman, Anthony. (interview with Swear to Tell the Truth producer), Indiewire.com, April 16, 2008
Hentoff, Nat. "Lenny Bruce: The crucifixion of a true believer", Gadfly March/April 2001
Sloan, Will. "Is Lenny Bruce Still Funny?", Hazlitt, November 4, 2014
Smith, Daniel V. "The Complete Lenny Bruce Chronology" (fan site)
"Lenny Bruce: The Making of a Prophet" Memoir and pictures from Bruce's principal collaborator, Media Maestro 2001.
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Video Clips Relating to the Trial of Lenny Bruce as assembled by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School
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[
"John H. Bailey (September 22, 1864 – August 27, 1940) was a senator and a representative from the state of Texas.\n\nLife\nJohn H. Bailey was born on September 22, 1864 to Luther Rice Bailey (May 3, 1837- April 28, 1918) and Mary Ellen Crank (1842-1920), one of their nine children. He never married and did not have any children.\n\nPolitics\nHe first was a Texas representative from the 24th-26th sessions (about 6 years). And then served as a Texas Senator from the 34th-39th sessions (15 years 5 months).\n\nReferences\n\n1864 births\n1940 deaths\nTexas state senators\nMembers of the Texas House of Representatives",
"Else Hansen (Cathrine Marie Mahs Hansen) also called de Hansen (1720 – 4 September 1784), was the royal mistress of king Frederick V of Denmark. She is his most famous mistress and known in history as Madam Hansen, and was, alongside Charlotte Amalie Winge, one of only two women known to have been long term lovers of the king.\n\nLife\n\nThe background of Else Hansen does not appear to be known. Tradition claims her to be the sister of Frederick's chamber servant Henrik Vilhelm Tillisch, who in 1743 reportedly smuggled in his sister to the king at night, but modern research does not support them to be the same person.\n\nRoyal mistress\nIt is not known exactly when and how Hansen became the lover of the king. Frederick V was known for his debauched life style. According to Dorothea Biehl, the king was known to participate in orgies or 'Bacchus parties', in which he drank alcohol with his male friends while watching female prostitutes stripped naked and danced, after which the king would sometime beat them with his stick and whip them after having been intoxicated by alcohol. These women where economically compensated, but none of them seem to have had any status of a long term mistress, nor did any of the noblewomen and maids-of-honors, which according to rumors where offered to the king by their families in hope of advantages but simply married of as soon as they became pregnant without any potential relationship having been anything but a secret. The relationship between the king and Else Hansen was therefore uncommon.\n\nElse Hansen gave birth to five children with the king between 1746 and 1751, which is why the affair is presumed to have started in 1746 at the latest and ended in 1751 at the earliest. At least her three younger children where all born at the manor Ulriksholm on Funen, a manor owned by Ulrik Frederik von Heinen, brother-in-law of the de facto ruler of Denmark, the kings favorite Adam Gottlob Moltke, who likely arranged the matter. The manor was named after the royal Ulrik Christian Gyldenlove, illegitimate son of a previous king. The king's children with Hansen where baptized in the local parish church near the manor, where they were officially listed as the legitimate children of the wife of a non existent man called \"Frederick Hansen, ship writer from Gothenburg to China\". The frequent trips to Ulriksholm by Hansen as soon as her pregnancies with the king became evident was publicly noted. Neither Else Hansen nor any other of the king's mistresses where ever any official mistress introduced at the royal court, nor did they have any influence upon state affairs whatever, as politics where entrusted by the king to his favorite Moltke.\n\nIn 1752, the relationship between the king and Hansen may have ended – in any case, it was not mentioned more or resulted in any more children. She settled in the property Kejrup near Ulriksholm with her children, officially with the status of \"widow of the late sea captain de Hansen\".\n\nLater life\nAfter the death of Frederick in 1766, she acquired the estate Klarskov on Funen. She sold Klarskov and moved to Odense in 1768. In 1771, however, she bought Klarskov a second time and continued to live there until her death.\n\nHer children were not officially recognized, but unofficially they were taken care of by the royal court: her daughters were given a dowry and married to royal officials and the sons careers where protected, and her grandchildren where also provided with an allowance from the royal house.\n\nAfter Hansen, the king did not have any long term mistress until Charlotte Amalie Winge (1762–66).\n\nLegacy\nAt Frederiksborgmuseet, there are three paintings of Hansen by Jens Thrane the younger from 1764. Hansen is known by Dorothea Biehl's depiction of the decadent court life of Frederick V.\n\nIssue \nHer children were officially listed with the father \"Frederick Hansen, sea captain\".\nFrederikke Margarethe de Hansen (1747–1802)\nFrederikke Catherine de Hansen (1748–1822)\nAnna Marie de Hansen (1749–1812)\nSophie Charlotte de Hansen (1750–1779)\nUlrik Frederik de Hansen (1751–1752)\n\nSources\n Charlotte Dorothea Biehl, Interiører fra Frederik V's Hof, udgivet af Louis Bobé.\n Aage Christens, Slægten de Hansen, 1968.\n\nReferences\n\n1720 births\n1784 deaths\nMistresses of Danish royalty\n18th-century Danish people\n18th-century Danish women landowners\n18th-century Danish landowners"
] |
[
"Muddy Waters",
"Early career, 1941-1948"
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C_33e05296104443a890d19310606eaa33_1
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What was his early career like?
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What was Muddy Waters' early career like?
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Muddy Waters
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
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"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled
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McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
| false |
[
"Miguel Reveriego is a Spanish fashion photographer\n\nEarly life \nSince he was 8 years old Reveriego had been obsessed with pictures of models and was very into movies as well. It was his first communion when he asked his parents for a camera though, he was not conscious at that age of what he wanted to do, but wanted to be like the movie directors or the photographers and just wanted that instrument ‘they had’.\n\nPhotography career \nReveriego was in Madrid, assisting fashion photographers when Pop came out he became a fan of photographers Mert & Marcus, he wanted to go to London and ask for a job. It was very difficult since he didn't speak fluent English but after trying several times, going there over and over again, he got the job. Miguel met their first assistant at the moment and through her, he got an interview with them. At that time Mert & Marcus have just bought their house in Ibiza and they were looking for someone who could speak Spanish and it happened. What he attributes to that period of his career, it's how clear the concept of the woman was.\n\nReferences\n\nSpanish photographers\nFashion photographers\nLiving people\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Jake Hagood (born March 29, 1991), better known as Who Is Fancy, is an American singer. He co-signed with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta on Big Machine Label Group and Dr. Luke on Prescription Songs. His single \"Goodbye\" was released in early 2015, peaking at number 29 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. Fancy was presented at the iHeartMedia Music Summit, although his identity was kept secret.\n\nEarly life\nJake Hagood was born March 29, 1991, in Bentonville, Arkansas. He taught himself to play piano at age eleven. He grew up listening to Christian and Country music. After finishing high school in Arkansas, Hagood moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Trevecca Nazarene University. The name, \"Fancy,\" was a nickname given to him by coworkers at Forever 21 during this time.\n\nWhile attending university, Hagood wrote original music and performed around the Nashville area. He left the university after being discovered by producers Scooter Braun, Scott Borchetta, and Dr. Luke. Hagood is openly gay.\n\nCareer\nBeginning in January 2015, Hagood, his management team, and his record label, built a viral campaign around the singer and his debut single \"Goodbye\". The single was released without revealing the person behind the \"Fancy\" pseudonym. A series of pseudo-music videos and a lyric-only clip were viewed more than 4 million times on YouTube, and with early radio support from stations like New York's Z100, the song reached number 29 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart, number 48 on the Billboard Digital Songs chart, and number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three music videos for the single were released, featuring three different actors lip-syncing to the song. Each video dealt with themes like gender identity and body positivity. A fourth music video featuring the performer himself in the same setting was filmed but never released.\n\nIn an interview with USA Today, Hagood said that one of motivations behind the campaign was for people to \"know [his] art before they knew [him]\". However, the concept met with a mixed response from some of Hagood's friends, including pop singer Meghan Trainor, who says she was vocally against it from the start. \"I felt like you're hiding this guy,\" she told The Canadian Press. \"What I loved about (Who is Fancy) was his appearance. He's this bubbly, happy person … he has the confidence, he has everything, and they just — I don't like what they did.\"\n\nHagood finally revealed his identity on April 7, 2015, in an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.\n\nTo promote his second single \"Boys like You\", Who Is Fancy performed with collaborators Meghan Trainor and Ariana Grande on Dancing with the Stars on January 23, 2016.\n\nAfter \"Boys Like You\" failed to perform on the charts, Hagood parted ways with manager Braun and Republic. In an interview with The Canadian Press, he said that he hoped to relaunch his career in summer 2016.\n\nIn 2016, Hagood was featured on Clean//Photograph, a Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran mashup by Nashville singer-songwriter Louisa Wendorff. The mashup received good reviews, and was featured on articles on Billboard, Seventeen etc.\n\nHagood reflected on his experience with a major label, and how they softened his gay persona: \"It was everyone wanting to see me win, and they were like, 'Well, maybe you can't win if you're this (type of person),'\" he says. \"But maybe I could, you know what I mean?\"\n\nConcert tours\nWho Is Fancy has opened for both Meghan Trainor's MTrain Tour and Ariana Grande's The Honeymoon Tour.\n\nDiscography\n\nSingles\n\nMusic videos\n \"Goodbye\"\n \"Boys Like You\"\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial website\n\n1991 births\nLiving people\n21st-century American singers\nAmerican male pop singers\nBig Machine Records artists\nAmerican gay musicians\nLGBT singers from the United States\nLGBT songwriters\nLGBT people from Arkansas\nPeople from Benton County, Arkansas\nPeople from Bentonville, Arkansas\nRepublic Records artists\nSingers from Arkansas\nSongwriters from Arkansas\n21st-century American male singers\n20th-century LGBT people\n21st-century LGBT people\nAmerican male songwriters"
] |
[
"Muddy Waters",
"Early career, 1941-1948",
"What was his early career like?",
"\"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house,\" Muddy recalled"
] |
C_33e05296104443a890d19310606eaa33_1
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What happen in 1941
| 2 |
What happen to Muddy Waters in 1941
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Muddy Waters
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians.
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McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
| true |
[
"Jackson Rogow (born October 5, 1991) is an American actor. He is best known for starring in the Cartoon Network live action series Dude, What Would Happen?\n\nCareer\nRogow was on Dude, What Would Happen on Cartoon Network until it was cancelled in 2011. Rogow was also on the Lego Top Secret Project after The Yoda Chronicles on Cartoon Network.\n\nPersonal life\nRogow resides in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California.\n\nFilmography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nLiving people\n1991 births\nPeople from Kissimmee, Florida\nPeople from Bel Air, Los Angeles\nLos Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni\nAmerican male television actors",
"James P. Flynn (born February 5, 1934) is an American teamster and film actor. He was a reputed member of the famous Winter Hill Gang. He has been in films including Good Will Hunting, The Cider House Rules and What's the Worst That Could Happen?.\n\nBiography\nJames P. Flynn was born in Somerville, Massachusetts.\n\nIn 1982, Flynn was wrongly identified as a shooter in the murder of Winter Hill Gang mob associate Brian \"Balloonhead\" Halloran and attempted murder of Michael Donahue. He was tried and acquitted for the murder in 1986 after being framed by John Connolly and James J. Bulger.\n\nFlynn was a part of Boston's International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25 labor union where he later ran the organization's movie production crew. He has also been the Teamster Union's transportation coordinator and transportation captain in the transportation department on numerous films, including The Departed, Fever Pitch and Jumanji.\n\nFlynn appeared in many films shot in the New England area. In show business he goes by the name 'James P. Flynn'. Flynn was cast as a judge in the Boston-based film Good Will Hunting in 1997. Later, he acted in the 1999 film The Cider House Rules and What's the Worst That Could Happen? in 2001. He was also a truck driver for movie production equipment during the filming of My Best Friend's Girl in 2008. Boston actor Tom Kemp remarked: \"[The film The Departed] wouldn't be a Boston movie without me, a Wahlberg, and Jimmy Flynn from the teamsters.\"\n\nFilmography\nGood Will Hunting (1997) as Judge George H. Malone\nThe Cider House Rules (1999) as Vernon\nWhat's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001) as the Fire Captain\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n1934 births\nLiving people\nMale actors from Boston\nWinter Hill Gang"
] |
[
"Muddy Waters",
"Early career, 1941-1948",
"What was his early career like?",
"\"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house,\" Muddy recalled",
"What happen in 1941",
"In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians."
] |
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What else was he known for in that year
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What else was Muddy Waters known for in 1941, in addition to going to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians?
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Muddy Waters
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
| false |
[
"Fredrick Else (31 March 193320 July 2015) was an English footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. Else gained over 600 professional appearances in his career playing for three clubs, Preston North End, Blackburn Rovers and Barrow.\n\nClub career\nElse was born in Golborne near Wigan on 31 March 1933. Whilst on national service in the north-east he played for amateur club Axwell Park Colliery Welfare in the Derwent Valley League. He attracted the attention of Football League teams and signed as a junior for Preston North End in 1951, and as a professional in 1953. He made his debut for Preston against Manchester City in 1954, but was restricted to 14 appearances over his first three seasons. He eventually became first choice, displacing George Thompson, and played 238 times for North End. During this time Preston's most successful season came in 1957–58, when the club finished as runners up in Division One.\n\nThe 1960–61 season ended in relegation for Preston and Else was sold to neighbours Blackburn Rovers for £20,000. Else became a first choice for Blackburn straight away and played 221 times for the club. A collarbone injury in 1964–65 resulted in a period out of the game, though Else returned to regain the goalkeeper's jersey at Blackburn. Nonetheless the team were relegated the following season and Else was released. During the summer of 1966 Else signed with Barrow of the Fourth Division. Else became part of Barrow's most successful team, with the side winning promotion to the Third Division in his first season there. Else was Barrow's first choice keeper for the entire period that they were in the third division, and played 148 league matches for the club. He retired from football after Barrow's relegation in 1970 following a leg infection. His final season included a brief stint as caretaker manager at Barrow.\n\nHonours\n Football League Division One Runner-up 1957–1958\n Football League Division Four Promotion 1966–1967\n\nInternational career\nElse has been described by fans of the clubs that he played for as one of the best English goalkeepers never to win a full international cap. He did, however, make one appearance for the England B team in 1957 against Scotland B, as well as participating in a Football Association touring side of 1961.\n\nPersonal life and death\nElse met his wife Marjorie in 1949 in Douglas on the Isle of Man. They married when Else was 22 and Marjorie 20, on 29 October 1955, a Saturday morning. The wedding was held in Marjorie's home town of Blackpool and the date was chosen so that the couple could marry in the morning and Else could then travel either to Deepdale, to play for Preston North End's reserve team, or to Bloomfield Road where Preston's first team was due to be playing Blackpool F.C. In the event Else was selected for the reserves and the couple had to travel by bus to Preston.\n\nAfter retiring from football, Else remained in Barrow-in-Furness, becoming a geography and maths teacher at a local secondary school. He retired from teaching in 1999 and moved to Cyprus, though still attended some Barrow matches. Else died in Barrow-in-Furness on 20 July 2015, aged 82.\n\nReferences\n\n2015 deaths\n1933 births\nBarrow A.F.C. managers\nBarrow A.F.C. players\nBlackburn Rovers F.C. players\nPreston North End F.C. players\nPeople from Golborne\nEnglish footballers\nAssociation football goalkeepers\nSchoolteachers from Cumbria\nEnglish Football League players\nEngland B international footballers\nEnglish football managers",
"Else Regensteiner (April 21, 1906 – January 18, 2003) was a German weaver, textile designer, author, and teacher who was primarily based in Chicago, Illinois. She is known for founding and heading the Weaving Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and for the creation of the reg/wick Hand Woven Originals weaving studio with Julia McVickers.\n\nPersonal life and education \nElse Regensteiner was born in Munich, Germany on April 21, 1906 to Ludwig and Hilda Friedsam. She studied at the Duetsche Frauenschule in Munich and received a teaching degree in 1925. In 1926 she married Bertold Regensteiner and her only child, Helga Regensteiner was born later that year. In 1936, \nElse and her husband immigrated to the United States. In Chicago, Else was introduced to Marli Ehrman, the head of the weaving department at the School of Design in Chicago. Ehrman offered Else a job as her assistant, and Else accepted the offer but chose to take classes instead of a salary. From 1940 to 1941, Marli Ehrman, a graduate of the Bauhaus, taught Else drafting and weaving on a fly-shuttle loom and introduced her to the ideals of the Bauhaus movement. Following Ehrman's advice, Else went to Black Mountain College in 1942 to take weaving classes under Anni Albers and design classes taught by Joseph Albers.\n\nCareer\n\nTeaching \nIn 1942, upon her return to Chicago from Black Mountain College, Else Regensteiner began her career as an instructor, teaching weaving at the Jane Addams Hull House until 1945. That year, she taught evening classes at the Chicago Institute of Design at the request of Marli Ehrman, and was hired as an assistant professor in the art department of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1947 she was made a full professor at the school, and in 1957 she founded its Weaving Department. She was the head of this department until her retirement in 1971 when she was granted the title of professor emeritus. After her retirement, Else became a weaving and design consultant at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece until 1978. During her career as a teacher, Else travelled throughout the United States and Canada giving workshops and lectures on weaving.\n\nreg/wick Hand Woven Originals \nIn 1945, Else Regensteiner partnered with Julia Woodruff Von Bergen McVicker to form reg/wick Hand Woven Originals weaving studio. The studio provided custom ordered handwoven fabrics to architects and interior designers, and designed sample weavings as prototypes for industrial production lines. The studio's fabrics were featured in many exhibitions and won national design awards.\n\nBooks \nElse wrote several successful books on the subject of weaving including, The Art of Weaving (1970), Program for a Weaving Study Group (1974), Weaver's Study Course: Sourcebook for Ideas and Techniques (1982), and Geometric Design in Weaving (1986).\n\nDeath \nElse Regensteiner died on January 18, 2003 of heart failure in her Chicago home.\n\nReferences \n\n1906 births\n2003 deaths\nAmerican weavers\n20th-century women textile artists\n20th-century textile artists\n20th-century German women writers"
] |
[
"Muddy Waters",
"Early career, 1941-1948",
"What was his early career like?",
"\"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house,\" Muddy recalled",
"What happen in 1941",
"In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians.",
"What else was he known for in that year",
"I don't know."
] |
C_33e05296104443a890d19310606eaa33_1
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What happen in 1942
| 4 |
What happen to Muddy Waters in 1942?
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Muddy Waters
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
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Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again.
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McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
| true |
[
"Jackson Rogow (born October 5, 1991) is an American actor. He is best known for starring in the Cartoon Network live action series Dude, What Would Happen?\n\nCareer\nRogow was on Dude, What Would Happen on Cartoon Network until it was cancelled in 2011. Rogow was also on the Lego Top Secret Project after The Yoda Chronicles on Cartoon Network.\n\nPersonal life\nRogow resides in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California.\n\nFilmography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nLiving people\n1991 births\nPeople from Kissimmee, Florida\nPeople from Bel Air, Los Angeles\nLos Angeles County High School for the Arts alumni\nAmerican male television actors",
"James P. Flynn (born February 5, 1934) is an American teamster and film actor. He was a reputed member of the famous Winter Hill Gang. He has been in films including Good Will Hunting, The Cider House Rules and What's the Worst That Could Happen?.\n\nBiography\nJames P. Flynn was born in Somerville, Massachusetts.\n\nIn 1982, Flynn was wrongly identified as a shooter in the murder of Winter Hill Gang mob associate Brian \"Balloonhead\" Halloran and attempted murder of Michael Donahue. He was tried and acquitted for the murder in 1986 after being framed by John Connolly and James J. Bulger.\n\nFlynn was a part of Boston's International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 25 labor union where he later ran the organization's movie production crew. He has also been the Teamster Union's transportation coordinator and transportation captain in the transportation department on numerous films, including The Departed, Fever Pitch and Jumanji.\n\nFlynn appeared in many films shot in the New England area. In show business he goes by the name 'James P. Flynn'. Flynn was cast as a judge in the Boston-based film Good Will Hunting in 1997. Later, he acted in the 1999 film The Cider House Rules and What's the Worst That Could Happen? in 2001. He was also a truck driver for movie production equipment during the filming of My Best Friend's Girl in 2008. Boston actor Tom Kemp remarked: \"[The film The Departed] wouldn't be a Boston movie without me, a Wahlberg, and Jimmy Flynn from the teamsters.\"\n\nFilmography\nGood Will Hunting (1997) as Judge George H. Malone\nThe Cider House Rules (1999) as Vernon\nWhat's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001) as the Fire Captain\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\n1934 births\nLiving people\nMale actors from Boston\nWinter Hill Gang"
] |
[
"Muddy Waters",
"Early career, 1941-1948",
"What was his early career like?",
"\"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house,\" Muddy recalled",
"What happen in 1941",
"In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians.",
"What else was he known for in that year",
"I don't know.",
"What happen in 1942",
"Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again."
] |
C_33e05296104443a890d19310606eaa33_1
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Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
| 5 |
Aside from going to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress in 1941, are there any other interesting aspects about this article about Muddy Waters?
|
Muddy Waters
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
|
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago
|
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
| true |
[
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Muddy Waters",
"Early career, 1941-1948",
"What was his early career like?",
"\"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house,\" Muddy recalled",
"What happen in 1941",
"In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians.",
"What else was he known for in that year",
"I don't know.",
"What happen in 1942",
"Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago"
] |
C_33e05296104443a890d19310606eaa33_1
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What did he do in Chicago
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What did Muddy Waters do in Chicago in 1943?
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Muddy Waters
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
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hope of becoming a full-time professional musician.
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McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
| true |
[
"Larry Lee (born August 7, 1962) is an American multimedia artist, curator, and professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). He works primarily in video, installation and sculptural projects with a strong conceptual approach. His work focuses on political, cultural and historical issues concerning the Asian American experience. He calls this \"Orientalia\" which he describes as \"[having] to do with... the physical and nonphysical, with what people associate with being oriental.\"\n\nEarly years \nLee was born in Chicago's Chinatown but soon moved to Orangeburg, South Carolina in the early 1970s where he spent most of his childhood. In 1980 he moved back to Chicago and in 1986 spent a year living in Asia.\n\nHe attended the University of South Carolina for journalism but did not earn a degree. He returned to Chicago and pursued a BFA at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1991, followed by an MFA at SAIC in 1999.\n\nArt work \nLarry Lee's first exhibition was the seminal DestinAsian at the Chicago Cultural Center. In Chicago his work has been exhibited at galleries including the Chicago Cultural Center, Gallery 400, and the Korean Cultural Center. He has also shown in New York City, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Cleveland and Glasgow, Scotland. \n\nHe became a part of SAIC's faculty in 1999 and teaches art history, theory and criticism. He also holds a position at the school as Associate Director of Admissions.\n\nHe is deeply involved in the Chicago Asian American community through affiliations with FAAIM, Molar Productions, DestinAsian, the Asian American Artist Collective, Center for Asian Arts and Media at Columbia College, Association of Asian American Studies, Diasporic Asian Artists Network and the Chinatown Centennial Celebration Committee.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsiaamI9zF4\n http://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=oral_his_series\n\nArtists from Chicago\n1962 births\nLiving people\nUniversity of Illinois at Chicago alumni\nSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni\nSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago faculty",
"Benjamin Ingrim Page (born 17 September 1940) is the Gordon S. Fulcher professor of decision making at Northwestern University. His interests include American politics and U.S. foreign policy, with particular interests in public opinion and policy making, the mass media, empirical democratic theory, and political economy. In 2014, Page, alongside co-author Martin Gilens, appeared on The Daily Show to discuss their study that found the policy-making process of American politics is dominated by economic elites.\n\nPage graduated Phillips Exeter Academy in 1958, graduated cum laude from Stanford University in 1961 with an A.B. in History. He completed his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1965, and his PhD in Political Science from Stanford in 1973. He completed additional post-doctoral training in Economics at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology as he completed his dissertation. Page worked as an assistant professor for many institutions including Dartmouth, the University of Chicago, and University of Wisconsin. From 1983 to 1988, he held the Erwin Chair in the Department of Government at The University of Texas at Austin. In 1988, he became a professor at Northwestern, serving as a professor of decision making for their political science department. Page has served on multiple political, economic, and social science fellowships through his career. As of 2016, his most recent focus is on a project called \"Economically Successful Americans and the Common Good\".\n\nPage has served on multiple political boards and associations through the years. In 1976, he sat on the Board of Overseers for the American National Election Studies until 1982. He has worked closely with the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA), serving on its governing council from 1984–1986. From 1991–1993, he served as vice president to the MPSA.\n\nPublications\nLiving with the Dragon: How the American Public Views the Rise of China. New York: Columbia University Press; 2010. \nConstrained Internationalism: Adapting to New Realities. Chicago: Chicago Council on Global Affairs; 2010.\nClass War? What Americans Really Think about Economic Inequality.Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2009 \nThe Foreign Policy Disconnect: What Americans Want from Our Leaders but Do Not Get. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2006. \nNavigating Public Opinion: Polls, Policy, and the Future of American Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press; 2002.\n Worldviews 2002: American Public Opinion & Foreign Policy. Chicago: Chicago Council on Foreign Relations; 2002.\n What Government Can Do: Dealing with Poverty and Inequality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2000. \n Who Deliberates? Mass Media and Modern Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1996.\n The Struggle for Democracy: An introduction to American Politics. New York: HarperCollins; 1993.\n The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in Americans' Policy Preferences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1992. \n Who Gets What from Government. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1983.\n The American Presidency. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1983. \n Choices and Echoes in Presidential Elections: Rational Man and Electoral Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 1978.\n The Politics of Representation: The Democratic Convention in 1972. New York: St. Martins; 1974\n Benjamin I. Page, Jason Seawright, and Matthew J. Lacombe Billionaires and Stealth Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2018\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1940 births\nLiving people\n20th-century American Jews\nAmerican political scientists\nNorthwestern University faculty\nStanford University alumni\nHarvard Law School alumni\nPhillips Exeter Academy alumni\n21st-century American Jews"
] |
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"Muddy Waters",
"Early career, 1941-1948",
"What was his early career like?",
"\"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house,\" Muddy recalled",
"What happen in 1941",
"In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians.",
"What else was he known for in that year",
"I don't know.",
"What happen in 1942",
"Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago",
"What did he do in Chicago",
"hope of becoming a full-time professional musician."
] |
C_33e05296104443a890d19310606eaa33_1
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Did he become one
| 7 |
Did Muddy Waters become a full-time professional musician?
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Muddy Waters
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In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
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He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night.
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McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
| true |
[
"General elections were held in Liechtenstein in April 1886.\n\nElectors \nElectors were selected through elections that were held between 6 and 10 April. Each municipality had two electors for every 100 inhabitants.\n\nResults \nThe election of Oberland's Landtag members and substitutes was held on 19 April in Vaduz. Of Oberland's 114 electors, 112 were present. Oberland elected six Landtag members and four substitutes. One Landtag seat for Oberland was left vacant as there were candidates from Oberland who did not accept their election as Landtag members.\n\nThe election of Unterland's Landtag members and substitutes was held on 20 April in Mauren. Of Unterland's 68 electors, 67 were present. Unterland elected five Landtag members and two substitutes.\n\nXaver Bargetze and Wendelin Erni did not accept their elections as Oberland's Landtag members. Albert Schädler initially did not accept his election as one of Oberland's Landtag members, but he was elected as one of Oberland's substitutes and was subsequently made to become a Landtag member. Meinrad Ospelt was substituted in to become one of Oberland's Landtag members. Josef Brunhart and Johann Alois Schlegel did not accept their election as Oberland's substitutes.\n\nReferences \n\nLiechtenstein\n1886 in Liechtenstein\nElections in Liechtenstein\nApril 1886 events",
"Kalpesh Ashok Patel (born 18 July 1985) is a former Kenyan cricketer who played two One Day Internationals for the national side, although he had no success in either.\n\nPatel's ODIs are the only List A games he played, but he appeared four times at first-class level. He took only three wickets, but did dismiss Scotland's Gavin Hamilton in both innings of a match during the 2004 ICC Intercontinental Cup.\n\nPatel once promised to become a very good cricketer: Andy Moles watched him play at Under-19 level and compared his bowling style with that of Terry Alderman, although he felt that his future was probably more as a batting all-rounder. Moles also praised Patel's \"superb\" fielding.\n\nHe did not play any major cricket since 2006.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n \n \n\n1985 births\nLiving people\nKenyan cricketers\nKenya One Day International cricketers"
] |
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"\"He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house,\" Muddy recalled",
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"In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians.",
"What else was he known for in that year",
"I don't know.",
"What happen in 1942",
"Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago",
"What did he do in Chicago",
"hope of becoming a full-time professional musician.",
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"He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night."
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C_33e05296104443a890d19310606eaa33_1
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What else happen in his early career years?
| 8 |
What else happen in Muddy Waters early career years, other than that in August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi?
|
Muddy Waters
|
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy recalled for Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it.'" Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941-42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997. In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy Waters open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave Muddy Waters the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep." Three years later, in 1946, he recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra - Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year. CANNOTANSWER
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In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo.
|
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago blues." His style of playing has been described as "raining down Delta beatitude."
Muddy Waters grew up on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi, and by age 17 was playing the guitar and the harmonica, emulating the local blues artists Son House and Robert Johnson. He was recorded in Mississippi by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress in 1941. In 1943, he moved to Chicago to become a full-time professional musician. In 1946, he recorded his first records for Columbia Records and then for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess.
In the early 1950s, Muddy Waters and his band—Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums and Otis Spann on piano—recorded several blues classics, some with the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon. These songs included "Hoochie Coochie Man," "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I'm Ready". In 1958, he traveled to England, laying the foundations of the resurgence of interest in the blues there. His performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960 was recorded and released as his first live album, At Newport 1960.
Muddy Waters' music has influenced various American music genres, including rock and roll and rock music.
Early life
Muddy Waters's place and date of birth are not conclusively known. He stated that he was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi, in 1915, but other evidence suggests that he was born in Jug's Corner, in neighboring Issaquena County, in 1913. In the 1930s and 1940s, before his rise to fame, the year of his birth was reported as 1913 on his marriage license, recording notes, and musicians' union card. A 1955 interview in the Chicago Defender is the earliest in which he stated 1915 as the year of his birth, and he continued to say this in interviews from that point onward. The 1920 census lists him as five years old as of March 6, 1920, suggesting that his birth year may have been 1914. The Social Security Death Index, relying on the Social Security card application submitted after his move to Chicago in the mid-1940s, lists him as being born April 4, 1913. His gravestone gives his birth year as 1915.
His grandmother, Della Grant, raised him after his mother died shortly after his birth. Grant gave him the nickname "Muddy" at an early age because he loved to play in the muddy water of nearby Deer Creek. "Waters" was added years later, as he began to play harmonica and perform locally in his early teens. The remains of the cabin on Stovall Plantation where he lived in his youth are now at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
He had his first introduction to music in church: "I used to belong to church. I was a good Baptist, singing in the church. So I got all of my good moaning and trembling going on for me right out of church," he recalled. By the time he was 17, he had purchased his first guitar. "I sold the last horse that we had. Made about fifteen dollars for him, gave my grandmother seven dollars and fifty cents, I kept seven-fifty and paid about two-fifty for that guitar. It was a Stella. The people ordered them from Sears-Roebuck in Chicago." He started playing his songs in joints near his hometown, mostly on a plantation owned by Colonel William Howard Stovall.
Career
Early career, early 1930s–1948
In the early 1930s, Muddy Waters accompanied Big Joe Williams on tours of the Delta, playing harmonica. Williams recounted to Blewett Thomas that he eventually dropped Muddy "because he was takin' away my women [fans]".
In August 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress to record various country blues musicians. "He brought his stuff down and recorded me right in my house," Muddy told Rolling Stone magazine, "and when he played back the first song I sounded just like anybody's records. Man, you don't know how I felt that Saturday afternoon when I heard that voice and it was my own voice. Later on he sent me two copies of the pressing and a check for twenty bucks, and I carried that record up to the corner and put it on the jukebox. Just played it and played it and said, 'I can do it, I can do it'." Lomax came back in July 1942 to record him again. Both sessions were eventually released by Testament Records as Down on Stovall's Plantation. The complete recordings were reissued by Chess Records on CD as Muddy Waters: The Complete Plantation Recordings. The Historic 1941–42 Library of Congress Field Recordings in 1993 and remastered in 1997.
In 1943, Muddy Waters headed to Chicago with the hope of becoming a full-time professional musician. He later recalled arriving in Chicago as the single most momentous event in his life. He lived with a relative for a short period while driving a truck and working in a factory by day and performing at night. Big Bill Broonzy, then one of the leading bluesmen in Chicago, had Muddy open his shows in the rowdy clubs where Broonzy played. This gave him the opportunity to play in front of a large audience. In 1944, he bought his first electric guitar and then formed his first electric combo. He felt obliged to electrify his sound in Chicago because, he said, "When I went into the clubs, the first thing I wanted was an amplifier. Couldn't nobody hear you with an acoustic." His sound reflected the optimism of postwar African Americans. Willie Dixon said that "There was quite a few people around singing the blues but most of them was singing all sad blues. Muddy was giving his blues a little pep."
In 1946, Muddy recorded some songs for Mayo Williams at Columbia Records, with an old-fashioned combo consisting of clarinet, saxophone and piano; they were released a year later with Ivan Ballen's Philadelphia-based 20th Century label, billed as James "Sweet Lucy" Carter and his Orchestra – Muddy Waters' name was not mentioned on the label. Later that year, he began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by the brothers Leonard and Phil Chess. In 1947, he played guitar with Sunnyland Slim on piano on the cuts "Gypsy Woman" and "Little Anna Mae". These were also shelved, but in 1948, "I Can't Be Satisfied" and "I Feel Like Going Home" became hits, and his popularity in clubs began to take off. Soon after, Aristocrat changed its name to Chess Records. Muddy Waters's signature tune "Rollin' Stone" also became a hit that year.
Commercial success, 1948–1957
Initially, the Chess brothers would not allow Muddy Waters to use his working band in the recording studio; instead, he was provided with a backing bass by Ernest "Big" Crawford or by musicians assembled specifically for the recording session, including "Baby Face" Leroy Foster and Johnny Jones. Gradually, Chess relented, and by September 1953 he was recording with one of the most acclaimed blues groups in history: Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Elga Edmonds (also known as Elgin Evans) on drums, and Otis Spann on piano. The band recorded a series of blues classics during the early 1950s, some with the help of the bassist and songwriter Willie Dixon, including "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", and "I'm Ready"
Muddy Waters's band became a proving ground for some of the city's best blues talent, with members of the ensemble going on to successful careers of their own. In 1952, Little Walter left when his single "Juke" became a hit, although he continued a collaborative relationship long after he left, appearing on most of the band's classic recordings in the 1950s. Howlin' Wolf moved to Chicago in 1954 with financial support earned through his successful Chess singles, and the "legendary rivalry" with Muddy Waters began. The rivalry was, in part, stoked by Willie Dixon providing songs to both artists, with Wolf suspecting that Muddy was getting Dixon's best songs. 1955 saw the departure of Jimmy Rogers, who quit to work exclusively with his own band, which had been a sideline until that time.
In the mid-1950s, Muddy Waters' singles were frequently on Billboard magazine's various Rhythm & Blues charts including "Sugar Sweet" in 1955 and "Trouble No More", "Forty Days and Forty Nights", and "Don't Go No Farther" in 1956. 1956 also saw the release of one of his best-known numbers, "Got My Mojo Working", although it did not appear on the charts. However, by the late 1950s, his singles success had come to an end, with only "Close to You" reaching the chart in 1958. Also in 1958, Chess released his first compilation album, The Best of Muddy Waters, which collected twelve of his singles up to 1956.
Performances and crossover, 1958–1970
Muddy Waters toured England with Spann in 1958, where they were backed by local Dixieland-style or "trad jazz" musicians, including members of Chris Barber's band. At the time, English audiences had only been exposed to acoustic folk blues, as performed by artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Big Bill Broonzy. Both the musicians and audiences were unprepared for Waters' performance, which included his electric slide guitar playing. He recalled:
Although his performances alienated the old guard, some younger musicians, including Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies from Barber's band, were inspired to go in the more modern, electric blues direction. Korner and Davies' own groups included musicians who would later form the Rolling Stones (named after Muddy's 1950 hit "Rollin' Stone"), Cream, and the original Fleetwood Mac.
In the 1960s, Muddy Waters' performances continued to introduce a new generation to Chicago blues. At the Newport Jazz Festival, he recorded one of the first live blues albums, At Newport 1960, and his performance of "Got My Mojo Working" was nominated for a Grammy award. In September 1963, in Chess' attempt to connect with folk music audiences, he recorded Folk Singer, which replaced his trademark electric guitar sound with an acoustic band, including a then-unknown Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar. Folk Singer was not a commercial success, but it was lauded by critics, and in 2003 Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 280 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In October 1963, Muddy Waters participated in the first of several annual European tours, organized as the American Folk Blues Festival, during which he also performed more acoustic-oriented numbers.
In 1967, he re-recorded several blues standards with Bo Diddley, Little Walter, and Howlin' Wolf, which were marketed as Super Blues and The Super Super Blues Band albums in Chess' attempt to reach a rock audience. The Super Super Blues Band united Wolf and Waters, who had a long-standing rivalry. It was, as Ken Chang wrote in his AllMusic review, flooded with "contentious studio banter [...] more entertaining than the otherwise unmemorable music from this stylistic train wreck". In 1968, at the instigation of Marshall Chess, he recorded Electric Mud, an album intended to revive his career by backing him with Rotary Connection, a psychedelic soul band that Chess had put together. The album proved controversial; although it reached number 127 on the Billboard 200 album chart, it was scorned by many critics, and eventually disowned by Muddy Waters himself:
Nonetheless, six months later he recorded a follow-up album, After the Rain, which had a similar sound and featured many of the same musicians.
Later in 1969, he recorded and released the album Fathers and Sons, which featured a return to his classic Chicago blues sound. Fathers and Sons had an all-star backing band that included Michael Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield, longtime fans whose desire to play with him was the impetus for the album. It was the most successful album of Muddy Waters' career, reaching number 70 on the Billboard 200.
Resurgence and later career, 1971–1982
In 1971, a show at Mister Kelly's, an upmarket Chicago nightclub, was recorded and released, signalling both Muddy Waters's return to form and the completion of his transfer to white audiences.
In 1972, he won his first Grammy Award, for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording for They Call Me Muddy Waters, a 1971 album of old, but previously unreleased recordings.
Later in 1972, he flew to England to record the album The London Muddy Waters Sessions. The album was a follow-up to the previous year's The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions. Both albums were the brainchild of Chess Records producer Norman Dayron, and were intended to showcase Chicago blues musicians playing with the younger British rock musicians whom they had inspired. Muddy Waters brought with him two American musicians, harmonica player Carey Bell and guitarist Sammy Lawhorn. The British and Irish musicians who played on the album included Rory Gallagher, Steve Winwood, Rick Grech, and Mitch Mitchell. Muddy was dissatisfied by the results, due to the British musicians' more rock-oriented sound. "These boys are top musicians, they can play with me, put the book before 'em and play it, you know," he told Guralnick. "But that ain't what I need to sell my people, it ain't the Muddy Waters sound. An' if you change my sound, then you gonna change the whole man." He stated, "My blues look so simple, so easy to do, but it's not. They say my blues is the hardest blues in the world to play." Nevertheless, the album won another Grammy, again for Best Ethnic or Traditional Recording.
He won another Grammy for his last LP on Chess Records: The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album, recorded in 1975 with his new guitarist Bob Margolin, Pinetop Perkins, Paul Butterfield, and Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of the Band. In November 1976 he appeared as a featured special guest at The Band's Last Waltz farewell concert, and in the subsequent 1978 feature film documentary of the event.
From 1977 to 1981, blues musician Johnny Winter, who had idolized Muddy Waters since childhood and who had become a friend, produced four albums of his, all on the Blue Sky Records label: the studio albums Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978) and King Bee (1981), and the live album Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). The albums were critical and commercial successes, with all but King Bee winning a Grammy. Hard Again has been especially praised by critics, who have tended to describe it as his comeback album.
In 1981, Muddy Waters was invited to perform at ChicagoFest, the city's top outdoor music festival. He was joined onstage by Johnny Winter and Buddy Miles, and played classics like "Mannish Boy", "Trouble No More", and "Mojo Working" to a new generation of fans. The performance was made available on DVD in 2009 by Shout! Factory. On November 22, he performed live with three members of British rock band the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood) at the Checkerboard Lounge, a blues club in Bronzeville, on the South Side of Chicago, which was established in 1972 by Buddy Guy and L.C. Thurman. A DVD version of the performance was released in 2012.
In 1982, declining health dramatically stopped his performance schedule. His last public performance took place when he sat in with Eric Clapton's band at a concert in Florida in the summer of 1982.
Personal life
Muddy Waters' longtime partner, Geneva Wade, died of cancer on March 15, 1973. Gaining custody of his three children, Joseph, Renee, and Rosalind, he moved them into his home, eventually buying a new house in Westmont, Illinois. Years later, he traveled to Florida and met his future wife, 19-year-old Marva Jean Brooks, whom he nicknamed "Sunshine". Eric Clapton served as best man at their wedding in 1979.
His sons, Larry "Mud" Morganfield and Big Bill Morganfield, are also blues singers and musicians. In 2017 his youngest son, Joseph "Mojo" Morganfield, began publicly performing the blues. Joseph was known to play occasionally with his brothers. Mojo died in 2020 at the age of 56.
Death
Muddy Waters died in his sleep from heart failure, at his home in Westmont, Illinois, on April 30, 1983, from cancer-related complications. He was taken from his Westmont home, which he lived in for the last decade of his life, to Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, Illinois, where he was pronounced dead aged 70. His funeral was held on May 4, 1983. Throngs of blues musicians and fans attended his funeral at Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He is buried next to his wife, Geneva.
After his death, a lengthy court battle ensued between his heirs and Scott Cameron, his former manager. In 2010, his heir was petitioning for the courts to appoint Mercy Morganfield, his daughter, as administrator and distribute remaining assets, which mainly consists of copyrights to his music. The petition to reopen the estate was successful. In May 2018, the heirs' lawyer sought to hold Scott Cameron's wife in contempt for diverting royalty income. However, the heirs asked for that citation not to be pursued. The next court date was set for July 10, 2018.
Legacy
Two years after his death, the city of Chicago paid tribute to him by designating the one-block section between 900 and 1000 East 43rd Street near his former home on the south side "Honorary Muddy Waters Drive". In 2017, a ten stories-mural commissioned as a part of the Chicago Blues Festival and designed by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra was painted on the side of the building at 17 North State Street, at the corner of State and Washington Streets. The Chicago suburb of Westmont, where he lived the last decade of his life, named a section of Cass Avenue near his home "Honorary Muddy Waters Way".
In 2008, a Mississippi Blues Trail marker has been placed in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the Mississippi Blues Commission designating the site of Muddy Waters' cabin. He also received a plaque on the Clarksdale Walk of Fame.
Muddy Waters' Chicago Home in the Kenwood neighborhood is in the process of being named a Chicago Landmark.
Influence
The British band The Rolling Stones named themselves after Muddy Waters' 1950 song "Rollin' Stone". Jimi Hendrix recalled that "I first heard him as a little boy and it scared me to death". The band Cream covered "Rollin' and Tumblin'" on their 1966 debut album, Fresh Cream. Eric Clapton was a big fan of Muddy Waters while growing up, and his music influenced Clapton's music career. The song was also covered by Canned Heat at the Monterey Pop Festival and later adapted by Bob Dylan on his album Modern Times. One of Led Zeppelin's biggest hits, "Whole Lotta Love", has its lyrics heavily influenced by the Muddy Waters hit "You Need Love" (written by Willie Dixon). "Hoochie Coochie Man", was covered by Allman Brothers Band, Humble Pie, Steppenwolf, Supertramp and Fear. In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the album Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, on which he covered a number of his songs, including "Louisiana Blues", "Rollin' Stone", "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm Ready" in collaboration with guitarists such as Gary Moore, Brian May and Jeff Beck. Angus Young, of the rock group AC/DC, has cited Muddy as one of his influences. The AC/DC song title "You Shook Me All Night Long" came from lyrics of the Muddy Waters song "You Shook Me", written by Willie Dixon and J. B. Lenoir. Earl Hooker first recorded it as an instrumental, which was then overdubbed with vocals by Muddy Waters in 1962. Led Zeppelin also covered it on their debut album.
In 1981 ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons went to visit the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale with The Blues magazine founder Jim O'Neal. The museum's director, Sid Graves, brought Gibbons to visit Waters original house, and encouraged him to pick up a piece of scrap lumber that was originally part of the roof. Gibbons eventually converted the wood into a guitar. Named Muddywood, the instrument is now exhibited at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.
Following his death, fellow blues musician B.B. King told Guitar World magazine, "It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music." John P. Hammond told Guitar World magazine, "Muddy was a master of just the right notes. It was profound guitar playing, deep and simple ... more country blues transposed to the electric guitar, the kind of playing that enhanced the lyrics, gave profundity to the words themselves."
Muddy Waters' songs have been featured in long-time fan Martin Scorsese's movies, including The Color of Money, Goodfellas, and Casino. A 1970s recording of his mid-'50s hit "Mannish Boy" was used in the films Goodfellas, Better Off Dead, Risky Business, and the rockumentary The Last Waltz. In 1988 "Mannish Boy" was also used in a Levi's 501 commercial and re-released in Europe as a single with "(I'm your) Hoochie Coochie Man" on the flip side.
Awards and recognition
Grammy Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed four songs of Muddy Waters among the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.
Blues Foundation Awards
Inductions
U.S. Postage Stamp
Discography
Studio albums
Muddy Waters Sings "Big Bill" (Chess, 1960)
Folk Singer (Chess, 1964)
Muddy, Brass & the Blues (Chess, 1966)
Electric Mud (Cadet, 1968)
After the Rain (Cadet, 1969)
Fathers and Sons (Chess, 1969)
The London Muddy Waters Sessions (Chess, 1972)
Can't Get No Grindin' (Chess, 1973)
Mud in Your Ear (Muse, 1973)
London Revisited (Chess, 1974) split album with Howlin' Wolf
"Unk" in Funk (Chess, 1974)
The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album (Chess, 1975)
Hard Again (Blue Sky, 1977)
I'm Ready (Blue Sky, 1978)
King Bee (Blue Sky, 1981)
Notes
References
External links
1913 births
1983 deaths
Chicago blues musicians
Electric blues musicians
Delta blues musicians
Blues revival musicians
African-American guitarists
African-American male singer-songwriters
American blues singer-songwriters
American blues guitarists
American male guitarists
Blues musicians from Mississippi
American street performers
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Musicians from Clarksdale, Mississippi
People from Issaquena County, Mississippi
Singer-songwriters from Mississippi
Slide guitarists
Lead guitarists
Chess Records artists
Muse Records artists
Mississippi Blues Trail
Blues rock musicians
20th-century American guitarists
Singer-songwriters from Illinois
People from Westmont, Illinois
Guitarists from Illinois
Guitarists from Mississippi
Blind Pig Records artists
20th-century African-American male singers
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[
"Tunnel vision is a term used when a shooter is focused on a target, and thus misses what goes on around that target. Therefore an innocent bystander may pass in front or behind of the target and be shot accidentally. This is easily understandable if the bystander is not visible in the telescopic sight (see Tunnel vision#Optical instruments), but can also happen without one. In this case, the mental concentration of the shooter is so focused on the target, that they fail to notice anything else.\n\nMarksmanship\nShooting sports",
"Thomas LeClair (born 1944) is a writer, literary critic, and was the Nathaniel Ropes Professor of English at the University of Cincinnati until 2009. He has been a regular book reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, the Washington Post Book World, the Nation, the Barnes & Noble Review, and the Daily Beast.\n\nEarly life\nTom LeClair grew up in Vermont, got his AB from Boston College, his MA from the University of Vermont, and his PhD from Duke University. He taught for two years at Norwich College before joining the faculty at the University of Cincinnati in 1970.\n\nLiterary career\nIn 1979, LeClair secured the first interview with Don Delillo, in Athens. LeClair taught at the University of Athens in 1981-82, and since then regularly spent his summers and sabbaticals in Greece.\n\nHis works of criticism include In the Loop: Don DeLillo and the Systems Novel, The Art of Excess: Mastery in Contemporary American Fiction, and What to Read (and Not): Essays and Reviews. He is co-editor with Larry McCaffery of Anything Can Happen, a collection of interviews the two co-editors did with contemporary American novelists.\n\nBibliography\nNovels:\nPassing Off (1996)\nWell-Founded Fear (2000)\nPassing On (2004)\nThe Liquidators (2006)\nPassing Through (2008)\nLincoln's Billy (2015)\nPassing Away (2018)\n\nNonfiction works:\nIn the Loop: Don DeLillo and the Systems Novel (1988)\nANYTHING CAN HAPPEN: Interviews with Contemporary American Novelists (1988) with Larry McCaffery\nThe Art of Excess: Mastery in Contemporary American Fiction (1989)\nWhat to Read and Not (2014)\nHarpooning Donald Trump (2017)\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican editors\nAmerican literary critics\nPostmodernists\nUniversity of Cincinnati faculty\nLiving people\nAmerican academics of English literature\n1944 births"
] |
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"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
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What is Psychomagic?
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What is Alejandro Jodorowsky's Psychomagic?
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
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Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
| true |
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"Psychomagic may refer to:\nPsychomagic (psychotherapy) a therapeutic technique",
"\"It Is What It Is\" is an idiomatic phrase, indicating the immutable nature of an object or circumstance and may refer to:\n It Is What It Is, a 2001 film by Billy Frolick\n It Is What It Is, a 2007 autobiography by David Coulthard\n It Is What It Is: Conversations About Iraq, a project by Jeremy Deller\n It Is What It Is, a radio show hosted by Sean Baligian\n\nMusic\n B.A.R.S. The Barry Adrian Reese Story or It Is What It Is, a 2007 album by Cassidy\n It Is What It Is (ABN album) (2008)\n It Is What It Is (Johnny Logan album) (2017)\n It Is What It Is (Thundercat album) (2020)\n It Is What It Is, a 1982 album by The Hitmen\n \"It Is What It Is\", a 1988 song by Derrick May from the compilation album Techno! The New Dance Sound of Detroit\n \"It Is What It Is (What It Is)\", a 1992 song by Adam Again from Dig\n\"It Is What It Is\", a 1995 song by The Highwaymen from the album The Road Goes On Forever\n \"It Is What It Is\", a 2010 song by Lifehouse from Smoke & Mirrors\n \"It Is What It Is\", a 2013 song by Blood Orange from Cupid Deluxe\n \"It Is What It Is\", a 2013 song by Kacey Musgraves from Same Trailer Different Park\n \"It Is What It Is\", a 2016 song by Lecrae from Church Clothes 3\n \"It Is What It Is\", a 2009 song by Vic Chesnutt from At the Cut\n\nSee also \n Fihi Ma Fihi, a Persian prose work by Rumi\n Tautophrase\n What It Is (disambiguation)"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life."
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
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Was was his take on this?
| 2 |
Was was Alejandro Jodorowsky's take on Psychomagic?
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
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Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
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[
"Take Your Time is the third studio album by Scatman John and the final released during his lifetime. It was released on June 1, 1999, six months before his death; although he suffered from lung cancer through most of the recording, he still managed to record and release the album.\n\nThe album had four singles released from it. Scatmambo which was used in the German film Love Scenes from Planet Earth. Japan got a double A side single, The Chickadee Song b/w Take Your Time. Take Your Time was issued in European countries, first with a 6 track release then a 4 track release with a memorial caption on the cover after his death. Ichi Ni San.... Go! was also released as a 3 track single in Europe, proving popular in Germany.\n\nAlbum history \nHis third album \"Take Your Time\", produced by Kai Matthiesen (producer of Mr. President, B-Charme, Crispy), was released on June 1, 1999. Scatman John died of lung cancer on 3 December 1999 at his home in California, six months after this album's release, ultimately making it his last. There were no music videos made for any of the tracks on this album, owing to John's deteriorating health. \"Take Your Time\" was released as a six-track CD-single. \"Ichi Ni San...Go\" was released as the follow up. In Japan, \"The Chickadee Song\" was released as a double-A-side single.\nIt featured the album version and remix of The Chickadee Song and the album version and 2 remix versions of \"Take Your Time\".\nAfter John's death, the \"Take Your Time\" single was re-released. This time it had only 4 tracks and a banner on the cover which mentioned \"In Loving Memory Of Scatman John\".\n\nTrack listing\n\n1999 albums\nScatman John albums\nRCA Records albums",
"Take Control (February 14, 2007 – October 17, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.\n\nTake Control was the son of two Horses of the Year: A.P. Indy and Azeri. In September, Azeri's A.P. Indy yearling colt, Vallenzeri (his previous name), was bought back by the trust for a Keeneland-record $7.7 million. Take Control was bought by Kaleem Shah at the Keeneland 2 year old in Training Sale in 2009.\n\nHe was trained by Bob Baffert.\n\nBreeding and early life \n\nTake Control was born on February 14, 2007, at Hill N Dale Farm in Lexington, KY. He was previously named Vallenzeri - the \"V\" referring to Valentine's Day (the day he was born), \"allen\" referencing Allen Paulson and \"zeri\" referencing his mother, Azeri. He was consigned to the yearling sale, where he was bought back for $7.7 million by his previous owner, the Allen Paulson trust. Later he was sold at the Keeneland 2 year old in Training Sale to Kaleem Shah, CEO of Calnet.\n\nRacing career \nTake Control won his career debut at Santa Anita Park, running over one mile. The chestnut colt rallied from last in his debut race on December 30, 2009, earning $27,000 for the win. He was then sidelined shortly after with a front shin injury and pointed towards a summer campaign. Bob Baffert said he was pointing him towards Saratoga's Travers Stakes.\n\nSore shins and assorted other problems had kept the chestnut away from the races throughout 2010 and for much of 2011. On June 30, 2012, Take Control won his first start back in a $52,000 Allowance Optional Claiming race at Betfair Hollywood Park. Take Control defeated 9 other horses in 1:45.24 winning by a length and half margin. In July 2012, Take Control placed fourth in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap.\n\nAfter another long layoff, he returned to the track in September 2013. He ran in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes, finishing 10th and last.\n\nOn October 17, 2013, Take Control broke down during a workout at Santa Anita Park, and was euthanized as a result of the injury.\n\nReferences\n January 20, 2010 Bloodhorse article on Take Control\n Equibase profile on Take Control\n\n2007 racehorse births\n2013 racehorse deaths\nThoroughbred family 1-l\nRacehorses bred in Kentucky"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
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What were the other areas?
| 3 |
Aside from Alejandro Jodorowsky's therapeutic work in Psychomagic, what were the other areas?
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
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Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
| true |
[
"This is a list of conservation areas in the West Midlands, England. There are a total of 137 conservation areas throughout the West Midlands.\n\nBirmingham\n\nBirmingham has 27 conservation areas. The first conservation areas in Birmingham were designated in 1969. Birmingham City Council have designed 31 conservation areas, of which one, St Peter's Place, have been de-designated in 1976 following the demolition of the church in its centre. The Castle Bromwich Conservation Area was transferred to Solihull following a boundary amendment from 1 April 1988. The former Key Hill and St Paul's Conservation Areas were incorporated into the Jewellery Quarter Conservation Area on 27 September 2000.\n\nCoventry\n\nCoventry has 15 conservation areas. The first conservation areas were designated in 1968.\n\nDudley\nThere are 21 conservation areas in Dudley.\n\nSandwell\nThere are six conservation areas in Sandwell.\n\nSolihull\n\nThere are 20 conservation areas in Solihull.\n\nWalsall\nThere are 18 conservation areas in Walsall. The first were designated in 1977.\n\nWolverhampton\nThere are 30 conservation areas in Wolverhampton, more than any other metropolitan borough in the West Midlands. The first conservation area was designated in 1972.\n\nSee also\nArticle Four Direction\nConservation in the United Kingdom\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nBirmingham.gov.uk: What is a Conservation Area?\n\n \nConservation areas\nWest Midlands\nWest Midlands",
"Fuentes Brotantes de Tlalpan National Park is a national park located in the Tlalpan district of southern Mexico City.\n\nIt was declared a National Park on 28 September 1936, on what was previously known as the Rancho Teochtíhuitl and the Barranca de los Manantiales.\n\nNatural history\nMost wildlife species that inhabit the park were brought and acclimatized to it, as a result of the donations from SEMARNAT and other animal welfare institutions.\n\nThe park's main characteristic are ponds, fed by a few springs flowing from the foothills of the Sierra del Ajusco.\n\nRecreation\nFuentes Brotantes de Tlalpan National Park is in size. The park has landscaped areas, birdwatching, food stalls, and restaurants.\n\nIt is one of the more visited spots by the residents of the southern city area.\n\nSee also\nNational parks of Mexico\n\nReferences\n\n1936 establishments in Mexico\nNational parks of Mexico\nParks in Mexico City\nProtected areas established in 1936\nTlalpan\nProtected areas of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage."
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
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Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?
| 4 |
Was there any statement Alejandro Jodorowsky made about psychomagic?
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
|
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work.
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
| false |
[
"Psychomagic may refer to:\nPsychomagic (psychotherapy) a therapeutic technique",
"Baiba Saulite was a mother of two originally from Latvia who was shot dead outside her home in Swords, Dublin on 19 November 2006.\n\nBackground\nHer children were taken from the Republic of Ireland by her former partner 'Mr A' in December 2004 and returned in September 2005. He had pleaded guilty to abducting the children and was sentenced to two years imprisonment. At the time of the killing he was already serving a four-year sentence for his part in a plan to export stolen cars to the Middle East.\n\nAfter his conviction, Baiba wrote a twelve-page victim impact statement saying that she was very worried for her safety. She was shot dead five days later.\n\nNobody was ever convicted of her murder.\n\nAftermath\nHer solicitor was under armed Garda protection after the murder, despite denials from Gardaí at the time.\n\nDetective Garda Walter O'Sullivan said he believed that Ms Saulite was specifically targeted, that information gathered during the investigation suggested a contract had been taken out on her. He said suspects were identified and prosecution recommended when sending the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The DPP chose not to prosecute, which surprised O'Sullivan.\n\nDisclosures tribunal\nOn 1 February 2022 the Disclosures Tribunal opened an investigation into her death.\n\nFormer Garda Sergeant William Hughes had been attached to the community policing unit at Swords Garda station at the time. He had investigated the abduction of her children between 2004 and 2006. Her children were located in Lebanon and she travelled there to collect them. A man referred to as \"Mr A\" pleaded guilty to their abduction. Baiba met with Garda Hughes and Garda Declan Nyhan at Swords Garda station to draft a victim impact statement. She handed Garda Hughes a twelve-page handwritten statement that was for the sentencing hearing of \"Mr A\". It detailed a history of abuse against her and near the end she wrote she was \"very scared for my life\". She was not making a formal complaint against \"Mr A\" at this time. Some elements of the draft impact statement were not suitable and she was to return to the Garda station to complete it. When she was shot dead Garda Hughes said he was \"shocked and upset\" when told. He told the tribunal \"I was extremely shocked that things got to this stage and I felt things had gone terribly wrong with the entire matter, it shouldn’t have happened. When it happened and after I was thinking was there a way we could have prevented this\".\n\nHe told tribunal investigators: \"I began making allegations about a ‘systems failure’, in respect of all investigations related to the murder, including the child abduction case, in which I was involved.\" He also said \"What I was saying was that numerous related crimes, including the child abduction case and threats to Baiba Saulite and her Solicitor John Hennessy which occurred in 2006 were not properly correlated and coordinated.\" He had told an investigation that there was \"a systemic failure\" that \"ultimately permitted a critical chain of events to transpire before the death of Baiba Saulite\". He said that \"the responsibility for the failure rests with senior management\" and claimed he was \"subjected to a horrendous cycle of intimidation, bullying and harassment\".\n\nIn 2007 there was a Garda investigation into an alleged breach of discipline by Hughes. It was to determine if he \"in possession of documentation or information\" that meant that he \"ought to have known\" about \"he existence of a real and immediate risk to the life of Baiba Saulite\". In 2009 the investigation concluded that there was no breach of discipline on his part.\n\nThe tribunal is to determine if Assistant Commissioner McHugh or Chief Superintendent Michael Feehan tried \"to target or discredit\" Hughes by initiating the disciplinary procedure because Hughes had made a protected disclosure. Gardaí deny this.\n\nOn 2 February 2022 Hughes testified that in the days after the killing of Baiba Saulite The Irish Sun carried an article claiming there was \"a hit out to get the garda that reunited Baiba Saulite with her children\". Hughes raised the article with his superiors, saying it was \"dangerously menacing\" and that he was not the source of the article.\n\nHe also testified about his concerns about a Garda Press Office press release on 22 November 2006. The release said that at no time prior to her killing was Ms Saulites solicitor given full time Garda protection but that he was given extensive advice on enhancements he could make to his home. It also said Ms Saulite had been given similar advice. Hughes said he has since learned that she was given no such advice.\n\nGardaí investigating the murder of Ms. Saulite were told to get the victim impact statement by breaking into the locker of Sgt. Hughes. Assistant Comissioner Al McHugh ordered Gardaí to force the locker to get the statement, if neccessary.\n\nRetired Detective Chief Superintendent Kevin Donoghue, former head of the Garda Press Office, testified about a nine paragraph statement given in this name on 22 November 2006. The statement claimed that it's purpose was to \"clarify the factual position\", saying there were media inaccuracies. The statement claimed the Gardaí had become aware of threats against her solicitor prior to her murder. He had been advised immediately of the threats as had she, the statement claimed.\n\nKevin Donoghue said that no such advise had been given either to Ms Saulite or her solicitor, agreeing with counsel for Hughes.\n\nHe also testified that he didn't know that Ms. Saulite had expressed concerns for her safety for a long time. Donoghue said that he got information about the case after the murder from a senior officer stationed locally. He said the statement was issued under his name because the case of Ms. Saulite was more serious than cases usually handled by the Garda Press Office. He denied that Hughes had been targeted and that the statement was made in good faith.\n\nReferences\n\nMurder in the Republic of Ireland\nCrime in the Republic of Ireland\n2006 deaths\nViolence against women in Ireland"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.",
"Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?",
"Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work."
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
|
Where does he hold lectures?
| 5 |
Where does Alejandro Jodorowsky hold lectures?
|
Alejandro Jodorowsky
|
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
|
in cafes and universities
|
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
| false |
[
"Nicolaas George Wijnand Henri Beeger (1884, in Utrecht – 1965, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch mathematician. His 1916 doctorate was on Dirichlet series. He worked for most of his life as a teacher, working on mathematics papers in his spare evenings. After his retirement as a teacher at 65, he began corresponding with many contemporary mathematicians and dedicated himself to his work. Tilburg University still hold biennial lectures entitled the Beeger lectures in his honour.\n\nHe is known for having proved that 3511 is a Wieferich prime in 1922.\n\nWorks\n (N. G. W. H. Beeger ed.), Jakob Philipp Kulik, Luigi Poletti, R. J. Porter, Liste des nombres premiers du onzième million: (plus précisément de 10.006.741 à 10.999.997), Association française pour l'avancement des sciences, Ed. \"Werto,\", 1951\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n Tilburg University information\n\n1884 births\n1965 deaths\nPoliticians from Utrecht (city)\n20th-century Dutch mathematicians",
"The Japan America Society of Houston is an educational society established in Houston, Texas on May 19, 1968.\nits mission is \"To bring the people of the United States and Japan closer together in appreciation and understanding of each other\".\nIt does this through film screenings, lectures, symposia, cultural lectures, and workshops.\n\n1968 establishments in Texas"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.",
"Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?",
"Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work.",
"Where does he hold lectures?",
"in cafes and universities"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
|
What do his lectures consist of?
| 6 |
What do Alejandro Jodorowsky's lectures consist of?
|
Alejandro Jodorowsky
|
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
|
such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination
|
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
| true |
[
"Trials of the State: Law and the Decline of Politics is a 2019 book by UK author, historian and former senior judge Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption, in which the content of his BBC's Reith Lectures have been published in book form. Sumption's lectures were delivered in front of a studio audience and were followed by question and answer sessions. Sumption used transcriptions of these lectures (with some notable changes) to prepare the book.\n\nThe central thesis of the book is Sumption's argument that in recent years, judicial law has undermined legislation and political process. This is because he argues that in political realms, rather than in courts, there is more accountability, especially from the public. \n\nIn the book, Sumption expresses his concern that judges can be allowed to circumvent parliamentary legislation and can review the merits of policy decisions, and the trouble with giving judges this power is they are not constitutionally accountable to anyone for what they do. In his view, this is particularly problematic when it comes to human rights laws, which \"transforms controversial political issues into questions of law for the Courts. In this way it takes critical decision-making powers out of the political process’.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nJonathan Sumption at The Reith Lectures, BBC 4\n\n2020 non-fiction books\nEnglish-language books\nBooks about politics of the United Kingdom\nBooks by Jonathan Sumption, Lord Sumption",
"George Washington Burnap (November 30, 1802 in Merrimack, New Hampshire – September 8, 1859 in Baltimore) was a Unitarian clergyman of the United States.\n\nBiography\nHis father was a Congregational minister in Merrimack. His mother died when he was seven, and a sister took care of him. He graduated from Harvard College in 1824, and then studied for three years at Harvard Divinity School. His studies of the Bible in college convinced him to become a Unitarian. In 1828 he was ordained pastor of the First Independent Church in Baltimore, where Jared Sparks had preceded him, and which position he retained till his death. He married Nancy Williams in 1831. Without neglecting his pastoral duties, Burnap devoted much of his career to studies, mostly oriented toward explaining Unitarianism to the public and justifying its doctrines in the face of its critics. In 1849 he received the degree of D.D. from Harvard College.\n\nHe was the first person to write \"The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for\" in his Lectures on the Sphere and Duties of Woman. This quote is often misattributed to such writers as Immanuel Kant and Joseph Addison.\n\nWorks\nHe was a voluminous writer, chiefly on theological and controversial subjects. His principal works are:\n Lectures on the Doctrines in Controversy between Unitarians and other Denominations of Christians (1835)\n Lectures on the History of Christianity (1842)\n Expository Lectures on the principal Texts of the Bible which relate to the Doctrine of the Trinity (1845)\n Life of Leonard Calvert in Jared Sparks' The Library of American Biography, Volume IX (1846)\nThe Sphere and Duties of Woman: A Course of Lectures (1848)\n Lectures to Young Men on the Cultivation of the Mind, the Formation of Character, and the Conduct of Life (1848)\n Lectures on the Sphere and Duties of Woman (1849)\n Lectures on the Doctrines of Christianity (1850)\n Christianity, its Essence and Evidence (1855)\n\nEssentials of happiness quotation\nPublished in Burnap's The Sphere and Duties of Woman: A Course of Lectures (1848), Lecture IV: \"The grand essentials of happiness in this life are: Something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.\"\n\nReferences\n\n1802 births\n1859 deaths\nAmerican Unitarian clergy\nHarvard Divinity School alumni\nHarvard College alumni\n19th-century American clergy"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.",
"Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?",
"Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work.",
"Where does he hold lectures?",
"in cafes and universities",
"What do his lectures consist of?",
"such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
|
Did he expand on his thoughts of tarot divination?
| 7 |
Did Alejandro Jodorowsky expand on his thoughts of tarot divination?
|
Alejandro Jodorowsky
|
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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and would culminate in an hour long conference,
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
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[
"Robert M. Place (born 1947) is an American artist and author known for his work on tarot history, symbolism, and divination.\n\nWork as an artist\nPlace has worked since the 1970s as a sculptor, jeweler and illustrator. His sculpture has been exhibited on the White House Christmas tree, in the New York State Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, and the Irish American Heritage Museum. Place’s jewelry has been exhibited in the American Craft Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Montclair Art Museum, the Summit Art Center, the International Wilhelm Muller Competition (which toured museums in Germany), the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, and in numerous galleries in the United States, Ireland, Britain, and Japan. He was awarded a 1984-85 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship and the Niche Magazine award for outstanding achievement in metal sculpture in 1990 and 1991.\n\nWork as tarot designer and author\nIn the 1990s, Place turned his attention as an illustrator to the creation of tarot decks and began his career as an author. Place is best known as the creator of The Alchemical Tarot, his first deck and book combination, which is illustrated in the style of 17th century alchemical engravings and which presents a parallel between the “great work” of alchemy, which leads to the creation of the philosopher’s stone and the allegory in the tarot’s trumps.\n\nIn his other decks, The Angels Tarot, The Tarot of the Saints, and The Buddha Tarot, Place has explored the connection between religion, mysticism, and the tarot’s symbolism.\n\nIn his fifth book, The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, his first book published not in connection with a tarot deck, Place contributed to the field of tarot history by discussing the images in the tarot in relation to the iconography of the 15th century Italian Renaissance, the era when the tarot was created. Place relates each image in the tarot to similar images created at that time and presents a theory of interpretation that is rooted in the art and philosophy of the time. The book also discusses contrasting occult theories and champions Pamela Colman Smith as the primary designer of the Waite–Smith tarot.\n\nThe Tarotpedia has said that The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination “is bound to find a place amongst the most important works published this decade.”\n\n\"Booklist\", the publication of the American Library Association, has said that The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination “may be the best book ever written on that deck of cards decorated with mysterious images called the tarot.”\n\nRobert Place has been a frequent lecturer on and teacher of Western mysticism and the history and use of the tarot. Besides teaching regularly at the New York Open Center since 1996 and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 2009, he has taught at the World Tarot Congress, in Chicago and in Dallas; the Southeast Tarot Congress, in Florida; the New York Reader's Studio; The Third International Conference of the Association for Esoteric Studies, in Charleston; The Omega Institute, in New York; The New York Theosophical Society; Columbia University; The Museo Dei Tarocchi, in Riola, Italy; The Tarot Guild of Australia, Melbourne; Cartomancia, in Sao Paulo, Brazil; and he has given workshops in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas; and since 2017, in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, China. His lectures have appeared on the BBC, the Learning Channel, Discovery, and A&E.\n\nIn July, 2007, Place had the honor of cutting the ribbon at the grand opening of the Museo dei Tarocchi, in Riola, Italy. Place was also the curator of an exhibition on the art and history of the tarot, which was held at the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum, from January 23, 2010, to May 9, 2010 and is the subject of his book, The Fool's Journey: the History, Art, & Symbolism of the Tarot. His facsimile of one of the earliest Italian Renaissance woodcut Tarots is included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.\n\nTarot and divination decks by Place\nThe Alchemical Tarot of Marseille, \nThe Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery 2nd Edition, \nThe Alchemical Tarot: Renewed 5th Edition, \nThe Tarot of the Alchemical Magnum Opus, \nAn Ukiyo-e Lenormand, \nThe Raziel Tarot: the Secret Teachings of Adam and Eve, \n The Marziano Tarot, \n The Hermes Playing Card Oracle, \n The New York Lenormand\n The Burning Serpent Oracle, \n Facsimile Italian Renaissance Woodcut Tarocchi\n The Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, \n The Annotated Tarot of the Sevenfold Mystery, \n The Vampire Tarot, \n The Buddha Tarot, \n The Tarot of the Saints, \n The Angels Tarot\n The Alchemical Tarot: Renewed, Editions 2, 3, and 4, \n The Alchemical Tarot: Art Edition\n The Alchemical Tarot,\n\nBooks\n The Tarot, Magic, Alchemy, Hermeticism, and Neoplatonism, Second Edition 2019, \nAlchemy and the Tarot: An Examination of the Historic Connection between Alchemy and the Tarot, with a Guide to The Alchemical Tarot, 2011, \n The Fool's Journey: the History, Art, & Symbolism of the Tarot, 2010, \n Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Magic and Alchemy, 2009, \n The Vampire Tarot, 2009, \n Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Shamanism, 2008, \n Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena Series: Astrology and Divination, 2008, \n The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, 2005, \n The Buddha Tarot Companion: A Mandala of Cards, 2004, \n A Gnostic Book of Saints, 2001, \n The Angels Tarot, coauthored with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, 1995, \n The Alchemical Tarot, coauthored with Rosemary Ellen Guiley, 1995,\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n The Museo dei Tarocchi – Italy Robert M. Place's workshop\n\nLiving people\nAlchemy\nAmerican illustrators\nAmerican non-fiction writers\nTarotologists\n1947 births\nDate of birth missing (living people)\nPlace of birth missing (living people)",
"Five of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card.\n\nTarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games.\n\nIn English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes.\n\nDivination usage\n\nThis card often carries the meaning of emotional dejection, disappointment and sorrow over past events. There may be a tendency to \"cry over spilt milk\". It can also represent the failure to see the good in a given situation. Although the figure represented on the card has lost three of his cups, two still stand, yet he fails to appreciate what he has left. A river flows in front of the figure, with a bridge leading to a safe destination, and yet he remains focused on the loss of his cups.\n\nReferences\n\nSuit of Cups"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.",
"Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?",
"Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work.",
"Where does he hold lectures?",
"in cafes and universities",
"What do his lectures consist of?",
"such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination",
"Did he expand on his thoughts of tarot divination?",
"and would culminate in an hour long conference,"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
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What's the most fascinating aspect of this article on Alejandro Jodorowsky?
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
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Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods,
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
| true |
[
"This article lists computer monitor screen resolutions that are defined by standards or in common use. Most of them use certain preferred numbers.\n\nComputer graphics\n\n Pixel aspect ratio (PAR) The horizontal to vertical ratio of each, rectangular, physical pixel\n Storage aspect ratio (SAR) The horizontal to vertical ratio of solely the number of pixels in each direction.\n Display aspect ratio (DAR) The combination (which occurs by multiplication) of both the pixel aspect ratio and storage aspect ratio giving the aspect ratio as experienced by the viewer.\n\nTelevision and Media \nFor television, the display aspect ratio (DAR) is shown, not the storage aspect ratio (SAR); analog television does not have well-defined pixels, while several digital television standards have non-square pixels.\n\nAnalog Systems\n\nDigital Standards \n\nMany of these resolutions are also used for video files that are not broadcast. These may also use other aspect ratios by cropping otherwise black bars at the top and bottom which result from cinema aspect ratios greater than , such as 1.85 or 2.35 through 2.40 (dubbed \"Cinemascope\", \"\" etc.), while the standard horizontal resolution, e.g. 1920 pixels, is usually kept. The vertical resolution is usually a multiple of 8 or 16 pixels due to most video codecs processing pixels on such sized blocks. A widescreen FHD video can be for a ratio or for roughly , for instance.\n\nFilms\n\nThe below distinguish SAR (aspect ratio of pixel dimensions), DAR (aspect ratio of displayed image dimensions), and the corresponding PAR (aspect ratio of individual pixels), though it currently contains some errors (inconsistencies), as flagged.\n\nVideo conferencing\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links\n Interactive Visualization : Screen Resolutions\n Resolutions for Common Aspect Ratios \n\nDisplay technology\nDisplay resolutions",
"The Iraq War: A Historiography of Wikipedia Changelogs is a 2010 book artwork compiled by British artist and technology writer James Bridle. It consists of a 12-volume, 7000-page set of printed books that show all 12,000 changes made to the English Wikipedia article on the Iraq War from December 2004 to November 2009. The books are an artistic visualization of the changes made to a particular article at Wikipedia. Only one copy was made, in 2010, so the set has not been published and was not intended for sale. The books have been exhibited in galleries in the United States and in Europe.\n\nAbout\nThe work is a historiography compiled by technology writer James Bridle. It contains changelogs of the page for the Wikipedia article on the Iraq War, including arguments, opinions and vandalism. The work shows the editing process for an article and the process of creation, which includes the opinions and biases of many contributors.\n\nThe author created their book as a demonstration of the process of making history. They say:\n\nThe project encourages viewers to think of editing contributions and the collections of commentary and disagreement as part of the historical record. It is also an exploration of how recent contributions to various media supplant older contributions and what content may be lost when scholars have access only to the latest publications. Bridle has stated that, despite the history button being on every page of every article, few people use it and to them this phenomenon is the most interesting and enlightening part of Wikipedia.\n\nReviews\nA reviewer for Time described the project as a fascinating visual aid. The review in ReadWriteWeb was that the work was \"pretty awesome\".\n\nSee also\n Bibliography of Wikipedia\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\nAudio of creator giving talk about this work\nInterview with the artist\nVideo of James Bridle discussing Wikipedia\n\n2010 non-fiction books\nBook arts\nBooks about the 2003 invasion of Iraq\nBooks about Wikipedia\nHistoriography"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.",
"Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?",
"Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work.",
"Where does he hold lectures?",
"in cafes and universities",
"What do his lectures consist of?",
"such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination",
"Did he expand on his thoughts of tarot divination?",
"and would culminate in an hour long conference,",
"What's the most fascinating aspect of this article?",
"Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods,"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
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What are the books called?
| 9 |
What are Alejandro Jodorowsky's books on his therapeutic methods called?
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
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Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
| true |
[
"What is called thinking? () is a book by the philosopher Martin Heidegger, the published version of a lecture course he gave during the winter and summer semesters of 1951 and 1952 at the University of Freiburg.\n\nReception\nThe philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote that \"For an acquaintance with the thought of Heidegger, What Is Called Thinking? is as important as Being and Time. It is the only systematic presentation of the thinker's late philosophy and . . . it is perhaps the most exciting of his books.\"\n\nReferences\n\n1952 speeches\n1954 non-fiction books\nBooks by Martin Heidegger\nGerman non-fiction books\nMetaphysics books\nPhilosophy lectures",
"What Is This Thing Called Science? (1976) is a best-selling textbook by Alan Chalmers.\n\nOverview\nThe book is a guide to the philosophy of science which outlines the shortcomings of naive empiricist accounts of science, and describes and assesses modern attempts to replace them. The book is written with minimal use of technical terms. What Is This Thing Called Science? was first published in 1976, and has been translated into many languages.\n\nEditions\nWhat Is This Thing Called Science?, Queensland University Press and Open University Press, 1976, pp. 157 + xvii. (Translated into German, Dutch, Italian Spanish and Chinese.) \nWhat Is This Thing Called Science?, Queensland University Press, Open University Press and Hackett, 2nd revised edition (6 new chapters), 1982, pp. 179 + xix. (Translated into German, Persian, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, Portuguese, Polish and Danish, Greek and Estonian.) \nWhat Is This Thing Called Science?, University of Queensland Press, Open University press, 3rd revised edition, Hackett, 1999. (Translated into Korean.)\nWhat Is This Thing Called Science?, University of Queensland Press, Open University press, 4th edition, 2013.\n\nSee also\n The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn\n The Logic of Scientific Discovery, by Karl Popper\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nReview of What is this Thing Called Science?\n Deborah G. Mayo: Review of the third edition of What is this Thing Called Science? in the newsletter of the Australasian Society for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (AAHPSSS), 2000.\n\n1976 non-fiction books\nEnglish-language books\nPhilosophy of science literature\nScience books\nScience textbooks\nUniversity of Queensland Press books"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.",
"Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?",
"Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work.",
"Where does he hold lectures?",
"in cafes and universities",
"What do his lectures consist of?",
"such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination",
"Did he expand on his thoughts of tarot divination?",
"and would culminate in an hour long conference,",
"What's the most fascinating aspect of this article?",
"Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods,",
"What are the books called?",
"Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
|
What was the first book?
| 10 |
What was the first book by Alejandro Jodorowsky?
|
Alejandro Jodorowsky
|
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
|
Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap
|
Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
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"What Was Lost is the 2007 début novel by Catherine O'Flynn. The novel is about a girl who goes missing in a shopping centre in 1984, and the people who try to discover what happened to her twenty years later. What Was Lost won the First Novel Award at the 2007 Costa Book Awards, and was short-listed for the overall Costa Book of the Year Award.\n\nDevelopment of the novel \nO'Flynn found inspiration for What Was Lost while she was working as an assistant manager in a record shop. She found ideas for her book from her job in the Merry Hill Shopping Centre near Dudley in the West Midlands.\n\nWhat Was Lost was rejected by 20 agents and publishers before being accepted for publication by Tindal Street Press, a small Birmingham publisher.\n\nPlot summary \nWhat Was Lost is a mystery story about a missing girl. It is also a portrait of a changing community over twenty years. It examines modern life's emptiness, and society's obsession with shopping.\n\nWhat Was Lost is set in the city of Birmingham, England. The main events of the novel take place in Green Oaks shopping centre. The first part of the novel is set in 1984. A 10-year-old girl called Kate Meaney frequently plays in the newly opened Green Oaks. She pretends to be a detective, observing and following people. She carries her toy monkey Mickey and a notebook with her. Kate vanishes and Adrian, the 22-year-old son of a newsagent, is the prime suspect in her disappearance. He is hounded by the press and the police. Unable to handle the pressure, he disappears.\n\nThe novel's narrative moves forward to 2004. Kurt is a security guard at Green Oaks. He has a sleeping disorder. Lisa is the deputy manager of a music store. She is unhappy because of the strange behaviour of her colleagues and customers and because of her relationship with her partner. She becomes friends with Kurt. A girl holding a soft toy is seen in a CCTV security monitor. Kurt and Lisa follow the girl through Green Oaks and investigate how she is connected to Green Oaks' unsettling history. It is revealed that both Kurt and Lisa have connections to the case of the missing girl.\n\nAwards and nominations \nWhat Was Lost was the winner in the first novel category of the Costa Book Awards. O'Flynn received a £5,000 prize. It was short-listed for the overall Costa Book of the Year Award. The Costa Book Awards' judging panel, chaired by Joanna Trollope, praised the novel for \"blending humour and pathos in a cleverly constructed and absorbing mystery.\" They described the novel as inventive, compelling, and poignant.\n\nWhat Was Lost was long-listed for the 2007 Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction. It was short-listed for the Guardian First Book Award. It won the Jelf Group First Novel Award for which O'Flynn received a prize of £2,500. It was BBC Radio 5 Live's Book of the Month in March 2007.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \nExtract from What Was Lost.\n\n2007 British novels\nBritish mystery novels\nNovels set in Birmingham, West Midlands\nFiction set in 1984\nFiction set in 2004\n2007 debut novels",
"What Is Mathematics? is a mathematics book written by Richard Courant and Herbert Robbins, published in England by Oxford University Press. It is an introduction to mathematics, intended both for the mathematics student and for the general public.\n\nFirst published in 1941, it discusses number theory, geometry, topology and calculus. \nA second edition was published in 1996 with an additional chapter on recent progress in mathematics, written by Ian Stewart.\n\nAuthorship\n\nThe book was based on Courant's course material. Although Robbins assisted in writing a large part of the book, he had to fight for authorship. Nevertheless, Courant alone held the copyright for the book. This resulted in Robbins receiving a smaller share of the royalties.\n\nTitle\nMichael Katehakis remembers Robbins' interest in the literature and Tolstoy in particular and he is convinced that the title of the book is most likely due to Robbins, who was inspired by the title of the essay What is Art? by Leo Tolstoy. Robbins did the same in the book Great Expectations: The Theory of Optimal Stopping he co-authored with Yuan-Shih Chow and David Siegmund, where one can not miss the connection with the title of the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.\n\nAccording to Constance Reid, Courant finalized the title after a conversation with Thomas Mann.\n\nTranslations\nThe first Russian translation «Что такое математика?» was published in 1947; there were 5 translations since then, the last one in 2010.\nThe first Italian translation, Che cos'è la matematica?, was published in 1950. А translation of the second edition was issued in 2000. \nThe first German translation Was ist Mathematik? was published in 1962.\nA Spanish translation of the second edition, ¿Qué Son Las Matemáticas?, was published in 2002.\nThe first Bulgarian translation, Що е математика?, was published in 1967. А second translation appeared in 1985.\nThe first Romanian translation, Ce este matematica?, was published in 1969.\nThe first Polish translation, Co to jest matematyka, was published in 1959. А second translation appeared in 1967. А translation of the second edition was published in 1998.\nThe first Hungarian translation, Mi a matematika?, was published in 1966.\nThe first Serbian translation, Šta je matematika?, was published in 1973.\nThe first Japanese translation, , was published in 1966. А translation of the second edition was published in 2001.\nA Korean translation of the second edition, , was published in 2000.\nA Portuguese translation of the second edition, O que é matemática?', was published in 2000.\n\n Reviews \n What Is Mathematics? An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods, book review by Brian E. Blank, Notices of the American Mathematical Society 48, #11 (December 2001), pp. 1325–1330\n What Is Mathematics?, book review by Leonard Gillman, The American Mathematical Monthly 105, #5 (May 1998), pp. 485–488.\n\n Editions \n Reprinted several times with a few corrections of minor errors and misprints as a \"Second Edition\" in 1943, as a \"Third Edition\" in 1945, as a \"Fourth Edition\" in 1947\", as \"Ninth Printing\" in 1958 and as \"Tenth Printing\" in 1960, and in 1978.Courant, Richard and Robbins, Herbert Ellis, What is Mathematics?, Oxford University Press, London-New York-Toronto, 1978.\n (1996) 2nd edition, with additional material by Ian Stewart. New York: Oxford University Press. .\n French translation of the second English edition by Marie Anglade and Karine Py.\n Spanish translation of the second English edition.\n (first Italian translation, from the 1945 English edition)\n (based on the previous Eianudi's edition)\n (Vietnamese translation by Hàn Liên Hải from the Russian edition)\n (Italian translation of the second English edition)\n\n References \n\n Herbert Robbins, Great Expectations: The Theory of Optimal Stopping'', with Y. S. Chow and David Siegmund. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971.\n\nBooks by Ian Stewart (mathematician)\nMathematics textbooks\n1941 non-fiction books"
] |
[
"Alejandro Jodorowsky",
"Psychomagic",
"What is Psychomagic?",
"Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life.",
"Was was his take on this?",
"he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic,",
"What were the other areas?",
"psychogenealogy and initiatic massage.",
"Was there any statement he made about psychomagic?",
"Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work.",
"Where does he hold lectures?",
"in cafes and universities",
"What do his lectures consist of?",
"such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination",
"Did he expand on his thoughts of tarot divination?",
"and would culminate in an hour long conference,",
"What's the most fascinating aspect of this article?",
"Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods,",
"What are the books called?",
"Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and",
"What was the first book?",
"Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap"
] |
C_d1a87c0741b6461fb1a285247fc66f9b_1
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What's the name of the second book?
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What's the name of Alejandro Jodorowsky's second book?
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Alejandro Jodorowsky
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Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger. Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences. Throughout his career, Jodorowsky has gained a reputation as a philosopher and scholar who presents the teachings of religion, psychology, and spiritual masters, by molding them into imaginative endeavors. All of his enterprises integrate an artistic approach. Currently, Jodorowsky dedicates much of his time to lecturing about his work. For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafes and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre genealogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafes, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it. Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the "Librairie Les Cent Ciels" in Paris. CANNOTANSWER
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La danza de la realidad (
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Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French filmmaker and artist. Since 1948, he has worked as a novelist, screenwriter, a poet, a playwright, an essayist, a film and theater director and producer, an actor, a film editor, a comics writer, a musician and composer, a philosopher, a puppeteer, a mime, a lay psychologist, a draughtsman, a painter, a sculptor, and a spiritual guru.
Best known for his avant-garde films El Topo (1970) and The Holy Mountain (1973), Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work which "is filled with violently surreal images and a hybrid blend of mysticism and religious provocation".
Overview
Born to Jewish-Galician parents (Chodorowski) in Tocopilla, Chile, Jodorowsky experienced an unhappy and alienated childhood, and so immersed himself in reading and writing poetry. Dropping out of college, he became involved in theater and in particular mime, working as a clown before founding his own theater troupe, the Teatro Mimico, in 1947. Moving to Paris in the early 1950s, Jodorowsky studied traditional mime under Étienne Decroux, and put his miming skills to use in the silent film Les têtes interverties (1957), directed with Saul Gilbert and Ruth Michelly. From 1960 he divided his time between Paris and Mexico City, in the former becoming a founding member of the anarchistic avant-garde Panic Movement of performance artists. In 1966 he created his first comic strip, Anibal 5, while in 1967 he directed his first feature film, the surrealist Fando y Lis, which caused a huge scandal in Mexico, eventually being banned.
His next film, the acid western El Topo (1970), became a hit on the midnight movie circuit in the United States, considered as the first-ever midnight cult film, and garnered high praise from John Lennon, who convinced former Beatles manager Allen Klein to provide Jodorowsky with $1 million to finance his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain (1973), a surrealist exploration of western esotericism. Disagreements with Klein, however, led to both The Holy Mountain and El Topo failing to gain widespread distribution, although both became classics on the underground film circuit.
After a cancelled attempt at filming Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction novel Dune, Jodorowsky produced five more films: the family film Tusk (1980); the surrealist horror Santa Sangre (1989); the failed blockbuster The Rainbow Thief (1990); and the first two films in a planned five-film autobiographical series The Dance of Reality (2013) and Endless Poetry (2016). During the same period, he wrote a series of science fiction comic books, most notably The Incal (1980–1989), which has been described as having a claim to be "the best comic book" ever written, and also The Technopriests and Metabarons. He has also written books and regularly lectures on his own spiritual system, which he calls "psychomagic" and "psychoshamanism" and which borrows from his interests in alchemy, the tarot, Zen Buddhism and shamanism. His son Cristóbal has followed his teachings on psychoshamanism; this work is captured in the feature documentary Quantum Men, directed by Carlos Serrano Azcona.
Early life and education
Jodorowsky was born in 1929 in the coastal town of Tocopilla, Chile, to parents who were Jewish immigrants from Yekaterinoslav (now Dnipro), Elisavetgrad (now Kropyvnytskyi) and other cities of the Russian Empire (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russian Partition, now Ukraine). His father, Jaime Jodorowsky Groismann (Jakub Chodorowski), was a merchant, who was largely abusive to his wife Sara Felicidad Prullansky Arcavi, and at one time accused her of flirting with a customer. Angered, he subsequently beat and raped her, getting her pregnant, which led to the birth of Alejandro. Because of this brutal conception, Sara both hated her husband and disliked her son, telling him that "I cannot love you" and rarely showing him tenderness. Alejandro also had an elder sister, Raquel Jodorowsky, but disliked her, for he believed that she was selfish, doing "everything to expel me from the family so that she could be the centre of attention." Alongside his dislike for his family, he also held contempt for many of the local people, who viewed him as an outsider because of his status as the son of immigrants, and also for the American mining industrialists who worked locally and treated the Chilean people badly. It was this treatment at the hands of Americans that led to his later condemnation of American imperialism and neo-colonialism in Latin America in several of his films. Nonetheless he liked his local area, and was greatly unhappy when he was forced to leave it at the age of nine years old, something for which he blamed his father. His family subsequently moved to the city of Santiago, Chile.
He immersed himself in reading, and also began writing poetry, having his first poem published when he was sixteen years old, alongside associating with such Chilean poets as Nicanor Parra, Stella Díaz Varín and Enrique Lihn. Becoming interested in the political ideology of anarchism, he began attending college, studying psychology and philosophy, but stayed for only two years. After dropping out, and having an interest in theatre and particularly mime, he took up employment as a clown in a circus and began a career as a theatre director. Meanwhile, in 1947 he founded his own theatrical troupe, the Teatro Mimico, which by 1952 had fifty members, and the following year he wrote his first play, El Minotaura (The Minotaur). Nonetheless, Jodorowsky felt that there was little for him left in Chile, and so that year he moved to Paris.
It was while in Paris that Jodorowsky began studying mime with Étienne Decroux and joined the troupe of one of Decroux's students, Marcel Marceau. It was with Marceau's troupe that he went on a world tour, and wrote several routines for the group, including "The Cage" and "The Mask Maker". After this, he returned to theatre directing, working on the music hall comeback of Maurice Chevalier in Paris. In 1957, Jodorowsky turned his hand to filmmaking, creating Les têtes interverties (The Severed Heads), a 20-minute adaptation of Thomas Mann's novella. It consisted almost entirely of mime, and told the surreal story of a head-swapping merchant who helps a young man find courtship success. Jodorowsky played the lead role. The director Jean Cocteau admired the film, and wrote an introduction for it. It was considered lost until a print of the film was discovered in 2006.
In 1960, Jodorowsky moved to Mexico, where he settled down in Mexico City. Nonetheless, he continued to return occasionally to France, on one occasion visiting the Surrealist artist André Breton, but he was disillusioned in that he felt Breton had become somewhat conservative in his old age. Continuing his interest in surrealism, in 1962 he founded the Panic Movement along with Fernando Arrabal and Roland Topor. The movement aimed to go beyond the conventional surrealist ideas by embracing absurdism. Its members refused to take themselves seriously, while laughing at those critics who did. In 1966 he produced his first comic strip, Anibal 5, which was related to the Panic Movement. The following year he created a new feature film, Fando y Lis, loosely based on a play written by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the time. Fando y Lis premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, where it instigated a riot amongst those objecting to the film's content, and subsequently it was banned in Mexico.
It was in Mexico City that he encountered Ejo Takata (1928–1997), a Zen Buddhist monk who had studied at the Horyuji and Shofukuji monasteries in Japan before traveling to Mexico via the United States in 1967 to spread Zen. Jodorowsky became a disciple of Takata and offered his own house to be turned into a zendo. Subsequently, Takata attracted other disciples around him, who spent their time in meditation and the study of koans. Eventually, Takata instructed Jodorowsky that he had to learn more about his feminine side, and so he went and befriended the English surrealist Leonora Carrington, who had recently moved to Mexico.
Career
El Topo and The Holy Mountain (1970–1974)
In 1970, Jodorowsky released the film El Topo, which sometimes is known in English as The Mole, which he had both directed and starred in. An acid western, El Topo tells the story of a wandering Mexican bandit and gunslinger, El Topo (played by Jodorowsky), who is on a search for spiritual enlightenment, taking his young son along with him. Along the way, he violently confronts a number of other individuals, before finally being killed and being resurrected to live within a community of deformed people who are trapped inside a mountain cave. Describing the work, he stated that "I ask of film what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs. The difference being that when one creates a psychedelic film, he need not create a film that shows the visions of a person who has taken a pill; rather, he needs to manufacture the pill." Knowing how Fando y Lis had caused such a scandal in Mexico, Jodorowsky decided not to release El Topo there, instead focusing on its release in other countries across the world, including Mexico's northern neighbour, the United States. It was in New York City where the film would play as a "midnight movie" for several months at Ben Barenholtz's Elgin Theater. It attracted the attention of rock musician and countercultural figure John Lennon, who thought very highly of it, and convinced the president of The Beatles' company Apple Corps, Allen Klein, to distribute it in the United States.
Klein agreed to give Jodorowsky $1 million to go toward creating his next film. The result was The Holy Mountain, released in 1973. It has been suggested that The Holy Mountain may have been inspired by René Daumal's Surrealist novel Mount Analogue. The Holy Mountain was another complex, multi-part story that featured a man credited as "The Thief" and equated with Jesus Christ, a mystical alchemist played by Jodorowsky, seven powerful business people representing seven of the planets (Venus and the six planets from Mars to Pluto), a religious training regimen of spiritual rebirth, and a quest to the top of a holy mountain for the secret of immortality. During the completion of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky received spiritual training from Oscar Ichazo of the Arica School, who encouraged him to take LSD and guided him through the subsequent psychedelic experience. Around the same time (2 November 1973), Jodorowsky participated in an isolation tank experiment conducted by John Lilly.
Shortly thereafter, Allen Klein demanded that Jodorowsky create a film adaptation of Pauline Réage's classic novel of female masochism, Story of O. Klein had promised this adaptation to various investors. Jodorowsky, who had discovered feminism during the filming of The Holy Mountain, refused to make the film, going so far as to leave the country to escape directing duties. In retaliation, Allen Klein made El Topo and The Holy Mountain, to which he held the rights, completely unavailable to the public for more than 30 years. Jodorowsky frequently decried Klein's actions in interviews.
Soon after the release of The Holy Mountain, Jodorowsky gave a talk at the Teatro Julio Castillo, University of Mexico on the subject of koans (despite the fact that he initially had been booked on the condition that his talk would be about cinematography), at which Ejo Takata appeared. After the talk, Takata gave Jodorowsky his kyosaku, believing that his former student had mastered the art of understanding koans.
Dune and Tusk (1975–1980)
In December 1974, a French consortium led by Jean-Paul Gibon purchased the film rights to Frank Herbert's epic 1965 science fiction novel Dune and asked Jodorowsky to direct a film version. Jodorowsky planned to cast the Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, in what would have been his only speaking role as a film actor, in the role of Emperor Shaddam IV. Dalí agreed when Jodorowsky offered to pay him a fee of $100,000 per hour. He also planned to cast Orson Welles as Baron Vladimir Harkonnen; Welles only agreed when Jodorowsky offered to get his favourite gourmet chef to prepare his meals for him throughout the filming. The book's protagonist, Paul Atreides, was to be played by Jodorowsky's son, Brontis Jodorowsky. The music would be composed by Pink Floyd and Magma. Jodorowsky set up a pre-production unit in Paris consisting of Chris Foss, a British artist who designed covers for science fiction publications, Jean Giraud (Moebius), a French illustrator who created and also wrote and drew for Métal Hurlant magazine, and H. R. Giger. Frank Herbert travelled to Europe in 1976 to find that $2 million of the $9.5 million budget had already been spent in pre-production, and that Jodorowsky's script would result in a 14-hour movie ("It was the size of a phonebook", Herbert later recalled). Jodorowsky took creative liberties with the source material, but Herbert said that he and Jodorowsky had an amicable relationship. The production for the film collapsed when no film studio could be found willing to fund the movie to Jodorowsky's terms. The aborted production was chronicled in the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. Subsequently, the rights for filming were sold to Dino de Laurentiis, who employed the American filmmaker David Lynch to direct, creating the film Dune in 1984. The documentary does not include any original film footage of what was to be Jodorowsky's Dune but does make extraordinary claims as to the influence this unmade film had on other actual science fiction films, such as Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Flash Gordon, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
After the collapse of the Dune project, Jodorowsky completely changed course and, in 1980, premiered his children's fable Tusk, shot in India. Taken from Reginald Campbell's novel Poo Lorn of the Elephants, the film explores the soul-mate relationship between a young British woman living in India and a highly prized elephant. The film exhibited little of the director's outlandish visual style and was never given wide release.
Santa Sangre and The Rainbow Thief (1981–1990)
In 1982, Jodorowsky divorced his wife.
In 1989, Jodorowsky completed the Mexican-Italian production Santa Sangre (Holy Blood). The film received limited theatrical distribution, putting Jodorowsky back on the cultural map despite its mixed critical reviews. Santa Sangre was a surrealistic slasher film with a plot like a mix of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho with Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac. It featured a protagonist who, as a child, saw his mother lose both her arms, and as an adult let his own arms act as hers, and so was forced to commit murders at her whim. Several of Jodorowsky's sons were recruited as actors.
He followed in 1990 with a very different film, The Rainbow Thief. Though it gave Jodorowsky a chance to work with the "movie stars" Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, the executive producer, Alexander Salkind, effectively curtailed most of Jodorowsky's artistic inclinations, threatening to fire him on the spot if anything in the script was changed (Salkind's wife, Berta Domínguez D., wrote the screenplay).
That same year (1990), Jodorowsky and his family returned to France to live.
In 1995, Alejandro's son, Teo, died in an accident while his father was busy preparing for a trip to Mexico City to promote his new book. Upon arriving in Mexico City, he gave a lecture at the Julio Castillo Theatre where he once again met Ejo Takata, who at this time had moved into a poor suburb of the city where he had continued to teach meditation and Zen. Takata would die two years later, and Jodorowsky would never get to see his old friend again.
Attempts to return to filmmaking (1990–2011)
In 2000, Jodorowsky won the Jack Smith Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF). Jodorowsky attended the festival and his films were shown, including El Topo and The Holy Mountain, which at the time had grey legal status. According to festival director Bryan Wendorf, it was an open question of whether CUFF would be allowed to show both films, or whether the police would show up and shut the festival down.
Until 2007, Fando y Lis and Santa Sangre were the only Jodorowsky works available on DVD. Neither El Topo nor The Holy Mountain were available on videocassette or DVD in the United States or the United Kingdom, due to ownership disputes with distributor Allen Klein. After settlement of the dispute in 2004, however, plans to re-release Jodorowsky's films were announced by ABKCO Films. On 19 January 2007, it was announced online that Anchor Bay would release a box set including El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and Fando y Lis on 1 May 2007. A limited edition of the set includes both the El Topo and The Holy Mountain soundtracks. And, in early February 2007, Tartan Video announced its 14 May 2007, release date for the UK PAL DVD editions of El Topo, The Holy Mountain, and the six-disc box set which, alongside the aforementioned feature films, includes the two soundtrack CDs, as well as separate DVD editions of Jodorowsky's 1968 debut feature Fando y Lis (with his 1957 short La cravate a.k.a. Les têtes interverties, included as an extra) and the 1994 feature-length documentary La constellation Jodorowsky. Notably, Fando y Lis and La cravate were digitally restored extensively and remastered in London during late 2006, thus providing a suitable complement to the quality restoration work undertaken on El Topo and The Holy Mountain in the States by ABKCO, and ensuring that the presentation of Fando y Lis is a significant improvement over the 2001 Fantoma DVD edition. Prior to the availability of these legitimate releases, only inferior quality, optically censored, bootleg copies of both El Topo and The Holy Mountain have been circulated on the Internet and on DVD.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Jodorowsky attempted to make a sequel to El Topo, called at different times The Sons of El Topo and Abel Cain, but did not find investors for the project.
In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Jodorowsky said he intended his next project to be a gangster film called King Shot. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper in November 2009, however, Jodorowsky revealed that he was unable to find the funds to make King Shot, and instead would be entering preparations on Sons of El Topo, for which he claimed to have signed a contract with "some Russian producers".
In 2010, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City staged the first American cinema retrospective of Alejandro Jodorowsky entitled Blood into Gold: The Cinematic Alchemy of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky would attend the retrospective and hold a master class on art as a way of transformation. This retrospective would inspire the museum MoMA PS1 to present the exhibition Alejandro Jodorowsky: The Holy Mountain in 2011.
The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry (2011–present)
In August 2011, Alejandro arrived in a town in Chile where he grew up, also the setting of his autobiography The Dance of Reality, to promote an autobiographical film based upon his book.
On 31 October 2011, Halloween night, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City) honored Jodorowsky by showing The Holy Mountain. He attended and spoke about his work and life. The next evening, he presented El Topo at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center.
Alejandro has stated that after finishing The Dance of Reality he was preparing to shoot his long-gestating El Topo sequel, Abel Cain. By January 2013, Alejandro finished filming on The Dance of Reality and entered into post-production. Alejandro's son and co-star in the film, Brontis, claimed the film was to be finished by March 2013, and that the film was "very different than the other films he made". On 23 April, it was announced that the film would have its world premiere at the Film Festival in Cannes. coinciding with The Dance of Reality premiered alongside the documentary film Jodorowsky's Dune, which premiered in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival, creating a "Jodorowsky double bill".
In 2015, Jodorowsky began a new film entitled Endless Poetry, the sequel to his last "auto-biopic", The Dance of Reality. His Paris-based production company, Satori Films, launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns to finance the film. The Indiegogo campaign has been left open indefinitely, receiving donations from fans and movie-goers in support of the independent production. The film was shot between June and August 2015, in the streets of Matucana in Santiago, Chile, where Jodorowsky lived for a period in his life. The film portrays his young adulthood in Santiago, years during which he became a core member of the Chilean poetic avant-garde alongside artists such as Hugo Marín, Gustavo Becerra, Enrique Lihn, Stella Díaz Varín, Nicanor Parra and others. Jodorowsky's son, Adan Jodorowsky, plays him as an adult and Brontis Jodorowsky, plays as his father Jaime. Jeremias Herskovitz, from The Dance of Reality, portrays Jodorowsky as a teenager. Pamela Flores plays Sara (his mother) and Stella Díaz Varín (poetess and young Jodorowsky's girlfriend). Leandro Taub portrays Jodorowsky's best friend, the poet and novelist Enrique Lihn. The film premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival on 14 May 2016. Variety's review was overwhelmingly positive, calling it "...the most accessible movie he has ever made, and it may also be the best."
During an interview at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, Jodorowsky announced his plans to finally make The Son of El Topo as soon as financial backing is obtained.
Other work
Jodorowsky is a weekly contributor of "good news" to the nightly "author news report" of his friend, Fernando Sánchez Dragó in Telemadrid.
He also released a 12" vinyl with the Original Soundtrack of Zarathustra (Discos Tizoc, Mexico, 1970).
He has cited the filmmaker Federico Fellini as his primary cinematic influence; other artistic influences included George Gurdjieff, Antonin Artaud, and Luis Buñuel. He has been described as an influence on such figures as Marilyn Manson, David Lynch, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jan Kounen, Dennis Hopper, and Kanye West.
Comics
Jodorowsky started his comic career in Mexico with the creation of Anibal 5 series in mid-1966 with illustrations by Manuel Moro. He also drew his own comic strip in the weekly series Fabulas pánicas that appeared in the Mexican newspaper, El Heraldo de México. He also wrote original stories for at least two or three other comic books in Mexico during those days: Los insoportables Borbolla was one of them. After his fourth film, Tusk, he started The Incal, with Jean Giraud (Mœbius). This graphic novel has its roots deep in the tarot and its symbols, e.g., the protagonist of The Incal, John Difool, is linked to the Fool card. The Incal (which would branch off into a prequel and sequel) forms the first in a sequence of several science fiction comic book series, all set in the same space opera Jodoverse (or "Metabarons Universe") published by Humanoids Publishing.
Comic books set in this milieu are Incal (trilogy: Before the Incal/ Incal/ Final Incal), Metabarons (trilogy: Castaka/ The Caste of the Metabarons/ Weapons of the Metabaron), and The Technopriests and also an RPG adaptation, The Metabarons Roleplaying Game. Many ideas and concepts derived from Jodorowsky's planned adaptation of Dune (which he would have been loosely based upon Frank Herbert's original novel) are featured in this universe.
Mœbius and Jodorowsky sued Luc Besson, director of The Fifth Element, claiming that the 1997 film borrowed graphic and story elements from The Incal, but they lost their case. The suit was plagued by ambiguity since Mœbius had willingly participated in the creation of the film, having been hired by Besson as a contributing artist, but had done so without gaining the approval of Incal co-creator Jodorowsky, whose services Besson did not call upon. For more than a decade, Jodorowsky pressured his publisher Les Humanoïdes Associés to sue Luc Besson for plagiarism, but the publisher refused, fearing the inevitability of the final outcome. In a 2002 interview with the Danish comic book magazine Strip!, Jodorowsky stated that he considered it an honour that somebody stole his ideas.
Other comics by Jodorowsky include the Western Bouncer illustrated by Francois Boucq, Juan Solo (Son of the Gun), and Le Lama blanc (The White Lama), the latter were illustrated by Georges Bess.
Le Cœur couronné (The Crowned Heart, translated into English as The Madwoman of the Sacred Heart), a racy satire on religion set in contemporary times, won Jodorowsky and his collaborator, Jean Giraud, the 2001 Haxtur Award for Best Long Strip. He is currently working on a new graphic novel for the U.S. market.
Jodorowsky's comic book work also appears in Taboo volume 4 (ed. Stephen R. Bissette), which features an interview with the director, designs for his version of Frank Herbert's Dune, comic storyboards for El Topo, and a collaboration with Moebius with the illustrated Eyes of the Cat.
Jodorowsky collaborated with Milo Manara in Borgia (2006), a graphic novel about the history of the House of Borgia.
Psychomagic
Jodorowsky spent almost a decade reconstructing the original form of the Tarot de Marseille. From this work he moved into more therapeutic work in three areas: psychomagic, psychogenealogy and initiatic massage. Psychomagic aims to heal psychological wounds suffered in life. This therapy is based on the belief that the performance of certain acts can directly act upon the unconscious mind, releasing it from a series of traumas, some of which practitioners of the therapy believe are passed down from generation to generation. Psychogenealogy includes the studying of the patient's personality and family tree in order to best address their specific sources. It is similar, in its phenomenological approach to genealogy, to the Constellations pioneered by Bert Hellinger.
Jodorowsky has several books on his therapeutic methods, including Psicomagia: La trampa sagrada (Psychomagic: The Sacred Trap) and his autobiography, La danza de la realidad (The Dance of Reality), which he was filming as a feature-length film in March 2012. To date he has published more than 23 novels and philosophical treatises, along with dozens of articles and interviews. His books are widely read in Spanish and French, but are for the most part unknown to English-speaking audiences.
For a quarter of a century, Jodorowsky held classes and lectures for free, in cafés and universities all over the city of Paris. Typically, such courses or talks would begin on Wednesday evenings as tarot divination lessons, and would culminate in an hour long conference, also free, where at times hundreds of attendees would be treated to live demonstrations of a psychological "arbre généalogique" ("tree of genealogy") involving volunteers from the audience. In these conferences, Jodorowsky would pave the way to building a strong base of students of his philosophy, which deals with understanding the unconscious as the "over-self", composed of many generations of family relatives, living or deceased, acting on the psyche, well into adult lives, and causing compulsions. Of all his work, Jodorowsky considers these activities to be the most important of his life. Though such activities only take place in the insular world of Parisian cafés, he has devoted thousands of hours of his life to teaching and helping people "become more conscious," as he puts it.
Since 2011 these talks have dwindled to once a month and take place at the Librairie Les Cent Ciels in Paris.
His film Psychomagic, a Healing Art premiered in Lyon on 3 September 2019. It was then released on streaming services on 1 August 2020.
Personal life
Jodorowsky's first wife was the actress Valérie Tremblay. He is currently married to the artist and costume designer Pascale Montandon.
He has five children: Brontis Jodorowsky, an actor who worked with his father in El Topo, The Dance of Reality and Endless Poetry; Teo, who played in Santa Sangre; Cristóbal, a psychoshaman and an actor (interpreter in Santa Sangre and the main character in the shamanic documentary Quantum Men); Eugenia Jodorowsky; and the youngest, Adan Jodorowsky, a musician known by his stage name of Adanowsky. The fashion model Alma Jodorowsky is the granddaughter of Alejandro.
On his religious views, Jodorowsky has called himself an "atheist mystic".
He does not drink or smoke, and has stated that he does not eat red meat or poultry because he "does not like corpses", basing his diet on vegetables, fruits, grains and occasionally marine products.
In 2005, Jodorowsky officiated at the wedding of Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.
Fans included musicians Peter Gabriel, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore (of the pop-duo Empire of the Sun). Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit, said that the film Holy Mountain was a big influence on him, especially as a visual artist, and that the concept album Lotus Island of his band Black Light Burns was a tribute to it.
Jodorowsky was interviewed by Daniel Pinchbeck for the Franco-German television show Durch die Nacht mit … on the TV station Arte, in a very personal discussion, spending a night together in France, continuing the interview in different locations such as a park and a hotel.
Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in the ending titles of his 2011 film Drive, and dedicated his 2013 Thai crime thriller, Only God Forgives, to Jodorowsky. Jodorowsky also appeared in the documentary My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, directed by Refn's wife Liv, giving the couple a tarot reading.
Argentinean actor Leandro Taub thanks Alejandro Jodorowsky in his book La Mente Oculta, for which Jodorowsky wrote the prologue.
Criticism and controversy
When Jodorowsky's first feature film, Fando y Lis, premiered at the 1968 Acapulco Film Festival, the screening was controversial and erupted into a riot, due to its graphic content. Jodorowsky had to leave the theatre by sneaking outside to a waiting limousine, and when the crowd outside the theatre recognized him, the car was pelted with rocks. The following week, the film opened to sell-out crowds in Mexico City, but more fights broke out, and the film was banned by the Mexican government. Jodorowsky himself was nearly deported and the controversy provided a great deal of fodder for the Mexican newspapers.
In regard to the making of El Topo, Jodorowsky allegedly stated in the early 1970s:
In the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, Jodorowsky states:
As a result of these alleged statements, Jodorowsky has been criticised. Matt Brown of Screen Anarchy wrote that "it's easier to wall off a certain type of criminality behind the buffer of time—sure, Alejandro Jodorowsky is on the record in his book on the making of the film as having raped Mara Lorenzio while making El Topo—though he later denied it—but nowadays he's just that hilarious old kook from Jodorowsky's Dune!" Emmet Asher-Perrin of Tor.com called Jodorowsky "an artist who condones rape as a means to an end for the purpose of creating art. A man who seems to believe that rape is something that women 'need' if they can't accept male sexual power on their own". Jude Doyle of Elle wrote that Jodorowsky "has been teasing the idea of an unsimulated rape scene in his cult classic film El Topo for decades ... though he's elsewhere described the unsimulated sex in that scene as consensual", and went on to state that the quote "has not endangered his status as an avant-garde icon".
On 26 June 2017, Jodorowsky released a statement on his Facebook account in response to the question: "Did you rape an actress during the filming of El Topo?" The following excerpts are from said statement:
Filmography
As director
As actor
Bibliography
Selected bibliography of comics, novels and non-fiction writings:
Graphic novels and comics
Anibal 5 {Original Mexican edition with Manuel Moro} (1966)
Los Insoportables Borbolla (with Manuel Moro) (1966)
The Panic Fables (; 1967–1970), comic strip published in El Heraldo de México.
The Eyes of the Cat (1978)
The Jealous God (1984)
The Magical Twins (1987)
Anibal 5 {French edition with Mœbius} (1990)
Diosamente (1992)
Moonface (1992)
Angel Claws (1994)
Son of the Gun (1995)
Madwoman of the Sacred Heart (1998)
The Shadow's Treasure (1999)
Bouncer (2001)
The White Lama (2004)
Borgia (2004)
Screaming Planet (2006)
Royal Blood (2010)
Showman Killer (2010)
Pietrolino (2013)
The Son of El Topo (2016- ongoing)
Knights of Heliopolis (2017)
Metabarons Universe
Beginning with The Incal in 1981, Jodorowsky has co-written and produced a series of linked comics series and graphic novels () for the French-language market known colloquially as the Jodoverse. The series was initially developed with Jean Giraud using concepts and designs created for Jodorowky's unfinished Dune project. Many of the comics and novels have been translated into Spanish, English, and German under Jodorowsky supervision.
The Incal (1981–1988)
Before the Incal (1988–1995)
The Metabarons (1992–2003)
The Technopriests (1998–2006)
Megalex (1999–2007)
After the Incal (2000), incomplete series.
Metabarons Genesis: Castaka (2007–2013)
Weapons of the Metabaron (2008)
Final Incal (2008–2014), revised version of the After the Incal series with new art and text.
The Metabaron (2015–2018)
Simak (2019)
Fiction
Jodorowsky's Spanish-language novels translated into English include:
Where the Bird Sings Best (1992)
Albina and the Dog Men (1999)
The Son of Black Thursday (1999)
Non-fiction
Psychomagic (1995)
The Dance of Reality (2001)
The Way of Tarot (2004), with Marianne Costa
The Manual of Psychomagic (2009)
Metageneaology (2012), with Marianne Costa
pascALEjandro: Alchemical Androgynous (2017), with Pascale Montandon
Autobiography
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro Jodorowsky (2005)
The Dance of Reality: A Psychomagical Autobiography (2014)
Sacred Trickery and the Way of Kindness: The Radical Wisdom of Jodo (2016)
The Finger and the Moon: Zen Teachings and Koans (2016)
References
Citations
Sources
Further reading
Cobb, Ben (2007). Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky (Persistence of Vision 6), ed. Louise Brealey, pref. Alan Jones, int. Stephen Barber. London, April 2007 / New York, August 2007, Creation Books.
Coillard, Jean-Paul (2009), De la cage au grand écran. Entretiens avec Alejandro Jodorowsky, Paris. K-Inite Editions.
Chignoli, Andrea (2009), Zoom back, Camera! El cine de Alejandro Jodorowsky, Santiago de Chile, Uqbar Editores.
Dominguez Aragones, Edmundo (1980). Tres extraordinarios: Luis Spota, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Emilio "Indio" Fernández; Mexicali, Mexico DF, Juan Pablos Editor. P. 109–146.
Gonzalez, Házael (2011), Alejandro Jodorowsky: Danzando con la realidad, Palma de Mallorca, Dolmen Editorial.
Larouche, Michel (1985). Alexandre Jodorowsky, cinéaste panique, París, ça cinéma, Albatros.
Moldes, Diego, (2012). Alejandro Jodorowsky, Madrid, Col. Signo e Imagen / Cineastas, Ediciones Cátedra. Prologue by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Monteleone, Massimo (1993). La Talpa e la Fenice. Il cinema di Alejandro Jodorowsky, Bologna, Granata Press.
External links
Jodorowsky publications in Métal Hurlant. BDoubliées
Jodorowsky albums. Bedetheque
Jodorowsky publications in English. Europeancomics.net
1929 births
Living people
20th-century alchemists
20th-century atheists
21st-century alchemists
21st-century atheists
Chilean comics writers
Chilean emigrants to France
Chilean expatriates in Mexico
Chilean film directors
Chilean experimental filmmakers
Esotericists
French-language film directors
French comics writers
French film directors
Chilean mimes
Chilean surrealist artists
Chilean surrealist writers
French surrealist artists
French surrealist writers
Surrealist filmmakers
Horror film directors
Anarchist writers
Chilean speculative fiction writers
Chilean autobiographers
Chilean Jews
Chilean people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Jewish anarchists
Jewish atheists
Jewish feminists
Jewish mimes
Mystics
Naturalized citizens of France
Chilean occultists
People from Tocopilla
Chilean performance artists
Psychedelic drug advocates
Psychotherapists
Tarot readers
Polish Ashkenazi Jews
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[
"Aşma ( transcendence) is the first published book, and monograph by Azerbaijani philosopher Agalar Qut. The book is written and published in the Azerbaijani language, in two editions, the latest of which is published in 2014 containing 372 pages, by Qanun Publishing company. The book's content is mainly about criticism of the social and religious values of, and suggesting reforms in the Azerbaijani society. The author of the book allegedly faced threats and opposition from radical Islamic organizations as well as from the local people for his criticism of the religion and the society in the book.\n\nIndex \n\nThis list contains the index of the second edition of the book with 372 pages.\n\n Preface\n Foreword to the second edition\n Philosophy starts with the question and goes on by comma\n Opening the Book\n Portraits\n Esses\n Individuum(s)\n Needle\n\n Listening to the Darkness\n In the role of the pessimist\n I'm choosing to be the second one\n Hanz and Kant (story)\n Language in the light of Philosophy\n Words written and pronounced wrongly in our language\n Culture or Civilization?\n How to spell \"Allah\"?\n What is \"-lıq4\" (suffix)\n Suggestions and corrections to the language of our philosophy\n \"If God lets...\"\n Addressed articles\n Ramiz Rovshan - the poet of destiny\n Niyazi Mehdi (60) as described\n \"Blessed be your statue, philosopher!\" (a response to \"Heydar Huseynov and Martin Heidegger\" article)\n Cultural and ethic articles\n (Should we stand) Atop of one another or beside each other?\n Not to be egoistic\n To be hard-working ( labour-loving)\n To be tolerant\n To be authentic\n Servitude of Morality\n Immorality of Freedom\n Illogicality of Freedom\n Humanism of the body\n Should my surname change me myself or my name's ending?\n What is the human?\n Nihilism\n \"Azerbaijani\" is synonymous with \"Muslim\"\n Denial is always risky\n Our salvation is in denial\n Decadence\n On our Senti-Mentality\n Mugham-loving Azerbaijanis\n Our heart has swollen\nLullabies of promise\n Some words on the poetic philosophy\n On trouble\n Was there a Renaissance in Islamic Orient?\n Four approaches towards the failure\n The elite of the new values\n Primordial beginning\n The unveiled face of Islam\n Paradise of the Arabs\n What is Atheism? (first article)\n What is Atheism? (second article)\n What is Atheism? (third article)\n Sword of Islam\n What is blasphemy?\n Veil as a mask\n From veil to hijab\n Islam as a global localism\n Islam and Atatürk\n Do we believe in God?\n God in front of the mind\n Is Islam a perfect religion?\n Should Allah maintain or \"protect\" (\"korusun\" as in the Turkish phrase) us?\n The religious cause of our voluntary ignorance\n Hope in the miracle of \"Allah is generous\"\n Extended Akhundov project\n Responding an MP\n The lesson of tolerance for \"muslim inquisitors\"\n Armor of religious \"sensitivity\"\n Religion is a matter dangerous for life\n An open letter to Hikmat Hajizade (topic: Islamism)\n Political and ideological articles\n Our mentality is the \"uncle\" of our rule\n Three in one: religion, mentality, and politics\n At the end of the word\n Philosophical opposition to the political one\n \"How to do?\" a question to the opposition\n Offer to the Third Power\n The Human viewed from the aspect of Human Rights\n Universal Human Rights Declaration\n Causes generating terrorism\n Time, God and Human, and Death\n Inception of philosophy of time\n Philosophical powers of Pantheism in the contemporary age\n Death\n Interviews\n It's impossible to simply pronounce the ultimate reality\n Not everyone can be drunk\n Islam, by essence, is not a religion\n To understand something you should surrender yourself to it\n Closing the book\n Why I left Azerbaijan? (first article)\n Why I left Azerbaijan? (second article)\n\nBooks about Azerbaijan\nBooks critical of Islam\nAzerbaijani books\nMonographs\nPhilosophical literature",
"Bardsey cum Rigton is a civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,385, increasing to 2,525 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes the villages of Bardsey, East Rigton and Thornhurst.\n\nEtymology\nThe name of Bardsey is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Berdesei and Bereleseie, situated in the hundred of Skyrack. The second element comes from the Old English word ēg ('island') and the first is agreed to be from a personal name. Exactly what this name was is not certain, but the name Beornrǣd is a plausible candidate. Thus the name probably once meant 'Beornrǣd's island' (or the island of someone of a similar name). Since the site is not in fact an island, it has been suggested that the name was metaphorical, referring to a hill rising, island-like, from flat ground.\n\nThe name of East Rigton is likewise first attested in the Domesday Book, as Riston, Ritone, and Ritun. The name comes from the Old Norse word hryggr ('ridge'), which had come into more general use in Old English, and the straightforwardly Old English word tūn ('farmstead, estate'). The additional element east is first attested in 1530, in the form Est Ryghton.\n\nSee also\nListed buildings in Bardsey cum Rigton\n\nReferences\n\nPlaces in Leeds\nCivil parishes in West Yorkshire"
] |
[
"Michael Jackson",
"2002-2005: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal"
] |
C_56dffd56bfef46f9af2d69c5fc11f313_1
|
what was he accused of in 2002-2005?
| 1 |
what was Michael Jackson accused of in 2002-2005?
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Michael Jackson
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Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son Prince onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm with a cloth loosely draped over Prince's face. Prince was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Bashir's crew was with Jackson during this incident; the program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy. As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time. After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly, Jackson was arrested in November 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old boy shown in the film. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation, he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. Unknown to Jackson, Bahrain was also where the family had intended to send Jackson if he had been convicted, according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011. On November 17, 2003, three days before Jackson's arrest, Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units. CANNOTANSWER
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Prince was briefly extended over a railing,
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded individual music artist in history.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, while Bad was the first album to produce five U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend. The lawsuit was settled out of civil court; Jackson was not indicted due to lack of evidence. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf in either case. In 2009, while preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era) and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. His honors include 15 Grammy Awards, 6 Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award and 39 Guinness World Records, including the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time". Jackson's inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted) and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, his estate earned $825million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.
Life and career
Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, near Chicago, on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. Joe's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout; family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose", and physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to punish any mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael. Katherine said that although whipping came to be considered abuse, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which were harder on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble. Jackson said his youth was lonely and isolated.
Later in 1964, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to bolster her career in television—sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line". The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house on a two-acre estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In 1975, the Jackson 5 left Motown. They signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records, and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).
In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical directed by Sidney Lumet. It costarred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night". In 1978, Jackson broke his nose during a dance routine. A rhinoplasty led to breathing difficulties that later affected his career. He was referred to Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's operations.
Jackson's fifth solo album, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–1983)
Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio, and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use. The songs were released in 2014. Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory (1984). In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in late 1982. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983, and became the best-selling album of all time in the US and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated copies. It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to produce seven Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16 to an estimated audience of , and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars. Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first Emmy Award nomination. Wearing a glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his moonwalk dance, which Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier, and it became his signature dance in his repertoire. Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television. But at the request of Motown founder Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for an opportunity to do a solo performance. Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance. Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, Thriller won eight awards, and Jackson won an award for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. Winning eight Grammys in one ceremony is a record he holds with the band Santana. Jackson and Quincy Jones won the award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical). Thriller won Album of the Year (with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer), and the single won Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male). "Billie Jean" won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male), with Jackson as songwriter and singer respectively. Thriller won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical), acknowledging Bruce Swedien for his work on the album. At the 11th Annual American Music Awards, Jackson won another eight awards and became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit. He also won Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Artist. "Beat It" won Favorite Soul/R&B Video, Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Pop/Rock Single. The album collectively won Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, with about $2 for every album sold (), and was making record-breaking profits. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each. In the same year, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a music documentary, won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Longform). Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too." The New York Times wrote "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else."
On May 14, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award recognizing his support of alcohol and drug abuse charities, and in recognition of his support for the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson allowed the campaign to use "Beat It" for its public service announcements.
Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career (1984–1985)
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement (). The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean", with revised lyrics, as its jingle.
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by Phil Dusenberry, a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its now closed Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for $10million. The second campaign covered 20 countries and provided financial support for Jackson's Bad album and 1987–88 world tour. Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as LA Gear, Suzuki, and Sony, but none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi.
The Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons and showcased Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson donated his share of the proceeds, an estimated , to charity. During the last concert of the Victory Tour at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jackson announced his split from The Jacksons during "Shake Your Body". His charitable work continued with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa. It earned $63million (), and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20million copies sold. It won four Grammy Awards in 1985, including Song of the Year for Jackson and Richie as its writers. The project's creators received two special American Music Awards honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Jones, and promoter Ken Kragen received special awards for their roles in the song's creation.
Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s, and learned that McCartney was making $40million a year from owning the rights to other artists' songs. By 1983, Jackson had begun buying publishing rights to others' songs, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson's early acquisitions of music catalogs and song copyrights such as the Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968), Len Barry's "1–2–3" (1965), and Dion DiMucci's "The Wanderer" (1961) and "Runaround Sue" (1961).
In 1984, Robert Holmes à Court announced he was selling the ATV Music Publishing catalog comprising the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including most of the Beatles' material. In 1981, McCartney had been offered the catalog for £20million ($40million). Jackson submitted a bid of $46million on November 20, 1984. When Jackson and McCartney were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, and did not pursue an offer on his own. Jackson's agents were unable to come to a deal, and in May 1985 left talks after having spent more than $1million and four months of due diligence work on the negotiations. In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative offer to buy ATV Music for $50million; in early August, Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson's increased bid of $47.5million () was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence. Jackson agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.
Changing appearance, tabloids, and films (1986–1987)
Jackson's skin had been medium-brown during his youth, but from the mid-1980s gradually grew paler. The change drew widespread media coverage, including speculation that he had been bleaching his skin. Jackson's dermatologist, Arnold Klein, said he observed in 1983 that Jackson had vitiligo, a condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment, and sensitivity to sunlight. He also identified discoid lupus erythematosus in Jackson. He diagnosed Jackson with lupus that year, and with vitiligo in 1986. Vitiligo's drastic effects on the body can cause psychological distress. Jackson used fair-colored makeup, and possibly skin-bleaching prescription creams, to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. The creams would have further lightened his skin, and, with the application of makeup, he could appear very pale. Jackson said he had not purposely bleached his skin and could not control his vitiligo, adding, "When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me." He became friends with Klein and Klein's assistant, Debbie Rowe. Rowe later became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his first two children.
In his 1988 autobiography and a 1993 interview, Jackson said he had had two rhinoplasty surgeries and a cleft chin surgery but no more than that. He said he lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet to achieve a dancer's body. Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy, and speculated he was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Periods of weight loss became a recurring problem later in his life. After his death, Jackson's mother said that he first turned to cosmetic procedures to remedy his vitiligo, because he did not want to look like a "spotted cow". She said he had received more than the two cosmetic surgeries he claimed and speculated that he had become addicted to them.
In 1986, tabloids reported that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, and pictured him lying in a glass box. The claim was untrue, and tabloids reported that he spread the story himself. They also reported that Jackson took female hormone shots to keep his voice high and facial hair wispy, proposed to Elizabeth Taylor and possibly had a shrine of her, and had cosmetic surgery on his eyes. Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo denied all of them, except for Jackson having a chamber. DiLeo added "I don't know if he sleeps in it. I'm not for it. But Michael thinks it's something that's probably healthy for him. He's a bit of a health fanatic."
When Jackson took his pet chimpanzee Bubbles to tour in Japan, the media portrayed Jackson as an aspiring Disney cartoon character who befriended animals. It was also reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "Elephant Man"). In June 1987, the Chicago Tribune reported Jackson's publicist bidding $1million for the skeleton to the London Hospital Medical College on his behalf. The college maintained the skeleton was not for sale. DiLeo said Jackson had an "absorbing interest" in Merrick, "purely based on his awareness of the ethical, medical and historical significance."
These tabloid stories inspired the name "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise. According to music journalist Joseph Vogel, the demeaning name first appeared in British tabloid The Sun in 1985. The name's origins come from Jacko Macacco, the name of a famous monkey used in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in the early 1820s. "Jacko" was used in Cockney slang to refer to monkeys in general, hence a racist connotation behind the name.
In 1987, Rolling Stone described Jackson as "the flighty-genius star-child, a celebrity virtually all his life, who dwells in a fairy-tale kingdom of fellow celebrities, animals, mannequins and cartoons, who provides endless fodder for the tabloids.... But it’s the same child in Michael who inspires the artistry that fuels all the subsidiary industries, who turns his primal fears and fantasies into wondrous, hyperkinetic and emotional music."
Jackson worked with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute $30million 3D film Captain EO, which ran from 1986 at Disneyland and Epcot, and later at Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland. After having been removed in the late 1990s, it returned to the theme park for several years after Jackson's death. In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Katherine Jackson said this might have been because some Witnesses strongly opposed the Thriller video. Michael had denounced it in a Witness publication in 1984.
Bad, autobiography, and Neverland (1987–1990)
Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated, with the industry expecting another major success. It became the first album to produce five US number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Another song, "Smooth Criminal", peaked at number seven. Bad won the 1988 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone". Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards in 1989 after Bad generated five number-one singles, became the first album to top the charts in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and 1988. By 2012, it had sold between 30 and 45million copies worldwide.
The Bad world tour ran from September 12, 1987, to January 14, 1989. In Japan, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record for a single tour. The 504,000 people who attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium set a new Guinness World Record.
In 1988, Jackson released his autobiography, Moonwalk, with input from Stephen Davis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It sold 200,000 copies, and reached the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Jackson discussed his childhood, the Jackson 5, and the abuse from his father. He attributed his changing facial appearance to three plastic surgeries, puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hairstyle, and stage lighting. In October, Jackson released a film, Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films starring Jackson and Joe Pesci. In the US it was released direct-to-video and became the best-selling video cassette. The RIAA certified it as eight time Platinum.
In March 1988, Jackson purchased of land near Santa Ynez, California, to build a new home, Neverland Ranch, at a cost of $17million (). He installed a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a movie theater and a zoo. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. Shortly afterwards, he appeared in the first Western television advertisement in the Soviet Union.
Jackson became known as the "King of Pop", a nickname that Jackson's publicists embraced. When Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, she called him "the true king of pop, rock and soul." President George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade". From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $455,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. His rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration won Jackson a second Emmy nomination. Jackson was the bestselling artist of the 1980s.
Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII halftime show (1991–1993)
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65million (), a record-breaking deal, beating Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records. In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous, co-produced with Teddy Riley. It was certified eight times platinum in the US, and by 2018 had sold 32million copies worldwide. In the US, the first single, "Black or White", was the album's highest-charting song; it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and achieved similar chart performances worldwide. The second single, "Remember the Time" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992, Dangerous was the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" the best-selling single of the year worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. In 1993, he performed "Remember the Time" at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he twisted his ankle during dance rehearsals. In the UK, "Heal the World" made No. 2 on the charts in 1992.
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to use the theme park rides, and sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. That July, Jackson published his second book, Dancing the Dream, a collection of poetry. The Dangerous World Tour ran between June 1992 and November 1993 and grossed (); Jackson performed for 3.5million people in 70 concerts, all of which were outside the US. Part of the proceeds went to Heal the World Foundation. Jackson sold the broadcast rights of the tour to HBO for $20million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.
Following the death of HIV/AIDS spokesperson and friend Ryan White, Jackson pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research and performed "Gone Too Soon", a song dedicated to White, and "Heal the World" at the gala. Jackson visited Africa in early 1992; on his first stop in Gabon he was greeted by more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read "Welcome Home Michael", and was awarded an Officer of the National Order of Merit from President Omar Bongo. During his trip to Ivory Coast, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
In January 1993, Jackson performed at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in Pasadena, California. The NFL sought a big-name artist to keep ratings high during halftime following dwindling audience figures. It was the first Super Bowl whose half-time performance drew greater audience figures than the game. Jackson played "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Dangerous rose 90 places in the album chart after the performance.
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993. He spoke of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood, and said that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, and stated for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its release.
In January 1993, Jackson won three American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence. In February, he won the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He attended the award ceremony with Brooke Shields. Dangerous was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (for "Black or White"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Jam") and Best R&B Song ("Jam"), and Swedien and Riley won the award for Best Engineered – Non Classical.
First child sexual abuse accusations and first marriage (1993–1995)
In August 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler. Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. While Jordan's mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested him, her position wavered a few days later. Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money. Jackson's older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile; she later retracted this, saying she had been forced into it by her abusive husband. Police raided Jackson's home in August and found two legal large-format art books featuring young boys playing, running and swimming in various states of undress. Jackson denied knowing of the books' content and claimed if they were there someone had to send them to him and he did not open them. Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match. In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for a reported total sum of $23 million. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.
Jackson had been taking painkillers for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations. On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked close friend Elizabeth Taylor for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his relationship with Pepsi-Cola which sponsored the tour.
In late 1993, Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez. The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect Jackson's sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley's career as a singer. Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995. Presley cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the next month and only sought to reclaim her maiden name as her settlement. After the divorce, Judge Perez said, "They lasted longer than I thought they would. I gave them a year. They lasted a year and a half."
Jackson was set to compose music for the Sega Genesis video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), but left the project around the time the sexual abuse allegations surfaced and went uncredited. Jackson was a Sonic fan, and had collaborated with Sega for the 1990 arcade game Moonwalker. The reasons for Jackson's departure and whether his compositions remain in the released game have been the subject of debate. Sega Technical Institute director Roger Hector and Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Naoto Ohshima said that Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music reworked following the allegations. However, Jackson's musical director Brad Buxer and two other members of Jackson's team, Doug Grigsby III and Ciorocco Jones, said the music remained and that Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis replicated his music.
HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood (1995–1997)
In June 1995, Jackson released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, is a greatest hits album (reissued in 2001 as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I). The second disc, HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for eight million shipments in the US. It is the best-selling multi-disc album of all time, with 20million copies (40million units) sold worldwide. HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The New York Times reviewed it as "the testimony of a musician whose self-pity now equals his talent".
The first single from HIStory was "Scream/Childhood". "Scream", a duet with Jackson's youngest sister Janet, protests the media's treatment of Jackson during the 1993 child abuse allegations against him. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The second single, "You Are Not Alone", holds the Guinness world record for the first song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance" in 1995.
In 1995 the Anti-Defamation League and other groups complained that "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me", the original lyrics of "They Don't Care About Us", were antisemitic. Jackson released a version with revised words.
In late 1995, Jackson was admitted to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance, caused by a stress-related panic attack. In November, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He retained ownership of half the company, earning $95million up front () as well as the rights to more songs.
"Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995. It became the 87th-bestselling single in the UK. At the 1996 Brit Awards, Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" was disrupted by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, who was protesting what Cocker saw as Jackson's "Christ-like" persona. Jackson said the stage invasion was "disgusting and cowardly".
In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Jackson promoted HIStory with the HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996, to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed . During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology assistant, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8million settlement (). In 2004, after the second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at copies, making it the best-selling remix album of all time. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, the album reached number 24 and was certified platinum.
Label dispute and Invincible (1997–2002)
From October 1997 to September 2001, Jackson worked on his tenth solo album, Invincible, which cost to record. In June 1999, Jackson joined Luciano Pavarotti for a War Child benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show raised a million dollars for refugees of the Kosovo War, and additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Later that month, Jackson organized a series of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO. From August 1999 to 2000, he lived in New York City at 4 East 74th Street. At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s. In 2000, Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson performed with his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Monica, Liza Minnelli, and Slash. The first show was marred by technical lapses, and the crowd booed a speech by Marlon Brando. Almost 30million people watched the television broadcast of the shows in November. After the September 11 attacks, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001. Jackson performed "What More Can I Give" as the finale.
The release of Invincible was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits, but clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. Invincible was released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and the last album of original material he released in his lifetime. It debuted at number one in 13 countries and went on to sell eightmillion copies worldwide, receiving double-platinum certification in the US.
On January 9, 2002, Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century. Later that year, an anonymous surrogate mother gave birth to his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), who had been conceived by artificial insemination. On November 20, Jackson briefly held Blanket over the railing of his Berlin hotel room, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". On January 22, promoter Marcel Avram filed a breach of contract complaint against Jackson for failing to perform two planned 1999 concerts. In March, a Santa Maria jury ordered Jackson to pay Avram $5.3million. On December 18, 2003, Jackson's attorneys dropped all appeals on the verdict and settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
On April 24, 2002, Jackson performed at Apollo Theater. The concert was a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and former President Bill Clinton. The money collected would be used to encourage citizens to vote. It raised $2.5million. The concert was called Michael Jackson: Live at the Apollo and this would be Jackson's final on-stage performance.
In July 2002, Jackson called Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola "a racist, and very, very, very devilish," and someone who exploits black artists for his own gain, at Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem. The accusation prompted Sharpton to form a coalition investigating whether Mottola exploited black artists. Jackson charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger". Responding to those attacks, Sony issued a statement calling them "ludicrous, spiteful, and hurtful" and defended Mottola as someone who had championed Jackson's career for many years. Sony ultimately refused to renew Jackson's contract and claimed that a promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the US for Invincible.
Second child sexual abuse allegations, trial, and acquittal (2002–2005)
Beginning in May 2002, a documentary film crew led by Martin Bashir followed Jackson for several months. The documentary, broadcast in February 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson, showed Jackson holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a 12-year-old boy. He said that he saw nothing wrong with having sleepovers with minors and sharing his bed and bedroom with various people, which aroused controversy. He insisted that the sleepovers were not sexual and that his words had been misunderstood.
On November 18, 2003, Sony released Number Ones, a greatest hits compilation. It was certified five-times platinum by the RIAA, and nine times platinum in the UK, for shipments of at least 2.7million units.
On December 18, 2003, Santa Barbara authorities charged Jackson with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks. Jackson denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. Jackson found the experience stressful and it affected his health. If convicted, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he became reclusive and moved to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
In December 2009, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released files on Michael Jackson. These files revealed the Bureau's role in the 2005 trial and the 1993 allegations against Jackson, among other revelations. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf.
Final years and This Is It (2006–2009)
In April 2006, Jackson agreed to use a piece of his ATV catalog stake, then worth about $1billion, as collateral against his $270million worth of loans from Bank of America. Bank of America had sold the loans to Fortress Investments, an investment company that buys distressed loans, the year before. As part of the agreement, Fortress Investments provided Jackson a new loan of $300million with reduced interest payments (). Sony Music would have the option to buy half of his stake, or about 25% of the catalog, at a set price. Jackson's financial managers had urged him to shed part of his stake to avoid bankruptcy. The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure, while Jackson lived in Bahrain at the hospitality of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son. At least 30 of Jackson's employees had not been paid on time and were owed $306,000 in back wages; Jackson was ordered to pay $100,000 in penalties.
In early 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup, Two Seas Records; nothing came of the deal, and Two Seas CEO Guy Holmes later said it was never finalized. That October, Fox News reported that Jackson had been recording at a studio in County Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known what Jackson was working on, or who had paid for the sessions; his publicist stated that he had left Two Seas by then.
In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC reported that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am. On November 15, Jackson briefly performed "We Are the World" at the World Music Awards in London and accepted the Diamond Award honoring the sale of over records. The event was Jackson's last public performance in his lifetime. He returned to the U.S. in December 2006, settling in Las Vegas, and attended James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia later that month, where he gave a eulogy calling Brown his greatest inspiration.
In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought another music publishing company, Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. The deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem and Beck, among others. In a brief interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Jackson said he had no regrets about his lifelong career despite difficulties and "deliberate attempts to hurt [him]". That March, Jackson visited a US Army post in Japan, Camp Zama, to greet over 3,000 troops and their families.
In September 2007, Jackson was still working on his next album, which he never completed. For the 25th anniversary of Thriller in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25, with two remixes released as singles: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008". For Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest hits albums, King of Pop, with different tracklists for different regions.
In 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson had used as collateral for his loans. Fortress sold Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. The deal earned him . Jackson arranged to sell a collection of his memorabilia of more than 1,000 items through Julien's Auction House. On the eve of the first public exhibit, Jackson canceled the auction after earning between $200million to $300million of initial sales from a series of concerts to be held in London.
In March 2009, amid speculation about his finances and health, Jackson announced a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, at a press conference at The O2 Arena. The shows were to be his first major concerts since the HIStory World Tour in 1997. Jackson suggested he would retire after the shows. The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, predicted the first 10 dates would earn Jackson £50million. The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record-breaking ticket sales; over one million were sold in less than two hours. The concerts were to run from July 13, 2009, to March 6, 2010. Jackson moved to Los Angeles, where he rehearsed in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega, whom he had worked with during his previous tours. Most rehearsals took place at the Staples Center owned by AEG.
Death
On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first This Is It show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from cardiac arrest. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 pm Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later. Jackson was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after Jackson's arrival there, but were unsuccessful, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).
Jackson was administered propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; his death was caused by a propofol overdose. News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload, and putting unprecedented strain on services and websites including Google, AOL Instant Messenger, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Overall, web traffic rose by between 11% and 20%. MTV and BET aired marathons of Jackson's music videos, and Jackson specials aired on television stations around the world. MTV briefly returned to its original music video format, and aired hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.
Memorial service
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Over 1.6million fans applied for tickets to the memorial; the 8,750 recipients were drawn at random, and each received two tickets. The memorial service was one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of 31.1million and a worldwide audience of an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion.
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the memorial, and Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies. Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children: "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Katherine, speaking publicly for the first time, wept as she addressed the crowd. The Rev. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. Jackson's body was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Criminal investigation and prosecution of Conrad Murray
In August 2009, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide. Law enforcement officials charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter on February 8, 2010. In late 2011, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and held without bail to await sentencing. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison.
Posthumous sales
At the 2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, including two for his compilation album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26. In the year after his death, more than 16.1million of Jackson's albums sold in the US and 35million albums sold worldwide, more than any other artist in 2009. He became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, with 2.6million song downloads. Thriller, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson became the first catalog albums to outsell any new album. Jackson also became the first artist to have four of the top 20 best-selling albums in a single year in the US.
Following the surge in sales, in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250million deal () with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017; it had been due to expire in 2015. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history. They agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. The deal was extended in 2017. That July, a Los Angeles court awarded Jones $9.4million of disputed royalty payments for Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate's stake in EMI for $287.5million.
In 2014, Jackson became the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. The following year, Thriller became the first album to be certified for 30million shipments by the RIAA; a year later, it was certified 33× platinum, after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
Posthumous releases and productions
The first posthumous Jackson song, "This Is It", co-written in the 1980s with Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals. It was followed by a documentary film about the rehearsals for the canceled This Is It tour, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and a compilation album. Despite a limited two-week engagement, the film became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, with earnings of more than worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album, Michael, and the promotional single "Breaking News". Jackson collaborator Will.i.am expressed disgust, saying that Jackson would not have approved the release.
Video game developer Ubisoft released a music video game featuring Jackson for the 2010 holiday season, Michael Jackson: The Experience; it was among the first games to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the motion-detecting camera systems for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Xscape, an album of unreleased material, was released on May 13, 2014. Later that year, Queen released a duet recorded with Jackson and Freddie Mercury in the 1980s. A compilation album, Scream, was released on September 29, 2017.
In October 2011, the theater company Cirque du Soleil launched Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, a $57-million production, in Montreal, with a permanent show resident in Las Vegas. A larger and more theatrical Cirque show, Michael Jackson: One, designed for residency at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opened on May 23, 2013, in a renovated theater. A jukebox musical, MJ the Musical, premiered on Broadway in 2022.
In April 2011, Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of Fulham Football Club, unveiled a statue of Jackson outside the club stadium, Craven Cottage. It was moved to the National Football Museum in Manchester in May 2014, and removed from display in March 2019 following renewed sexual assault allegations.
In 2012, in an attempt to end a family dispute, Jackson's brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing executors of Jackson's estate and his mother's advisors over the legitimacy of his brother's will. T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael Jackson's children after false reports of Katherine Jackson going missing. A duet between Jackson and Justin Timberlake titled "Love Never Felt So Good" was released in 2014, making Jackson the first artist to have a top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when the single reached number 9. In November 2019, it was reported that a Jackson biopic, produced by Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) producer Graham King, was in the works, with the screenplay written by John Logan. Jackson's estate granted King the rights to his music and will work with King.
Posthumous child sexual abuse allegations
In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old (1989–1996). In 2014, a case was filed by James Safechuck, alleging sexual abuse over a four-year period from the age of ten (1988–1992). Both had testified in Jackson's defense during the 1993 allegations; Robson did so again in 2005. In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed on the grounds of being filed too late. Safechuck's claim was also time-barred. In 2017, it was ruled that Jackson's corporations could not be held accountable for his alleged past actions. The rulings were appealed, and on October 20, 2020, Safechuck's lawsuit against Jackson's corporations was again dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that there was no evidence that Safechuck had a relationship with Jackson's companies. On April 26, 2021, Robson's case was dismissed because of a lack of supporting evidence that the defendants exercised control over Jackson.
Robson and Safechuck described allegations in graphic detail in the documentary Leaving Neverland, released in March 2019. Radio stations in New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands removed Jackson's music from their playlists. Jackson's family condemned the film as a "public lynching", and the Jackson estate released a statement calling the film a "tabloid character assassination [Jackson] endured in life, and now in death". Close associates of Jackson, such as Corey Feldman, Aaron Carter, Brett Barnes, and Macaulay Culkin, said that Jackson had not molested them. Rebuttal documentaries, such as Square One: Michael Jackson, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary and Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, presented information countering the claims. Jackson's album sales increased following the documentary. Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said she and a colleague interviewed about thirty music executives who believed Jackson's legacy could withstand the controversy. In late 2019, some New Zealand and Canadian radio stations re-added Jackson's music to their playlists, citing "positive listener survey results".
On February 21, 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The suit sought to compel HBO to participate in a non-confidential arbitration that could result in $100million or more in damages rewarded to the estate. HBO said they did not breach a contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. In September 2019, Judge George H. Wu denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to arbitrate. HBO appealed, but in December 2020 the appeal court affirmed Judge Wu's ruling.
Legacy
Jackson has been referred to as the "King of Pop" for having transformed the art of music videos and paving the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation. His influence extended beyond the music industry; he impacted dance, led fashion trends, and raised awareness for global affairs. Jackson's music and videos fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. In songs such as "Man in the Mirror", "Black or White", Heal the World, "Earth Song" and "They Don't Care About Us", Jackson's music emphasized racial integration and environmentalism and protested injustice. He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, and his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Danyel Smith, chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of Vibe, described Jackson as "the Greatest Star". Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". BET said Jackson was "quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" whose "sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artists of all genres".
In 1984, Time pop critic Jay Cocks wrote that "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." He described Jackson as a "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too." In 2003, The Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius". At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy called Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived". In a June 28, 2009 Baltimore Sun article, Jill Rosen wrote that Jackson's legacy influenced fields including sound, dance, fashion, music videos and celebrity.
Pop critic Robert Christgau wrote that Jackson's work from the 1970s to the early 1990s showed "immense originality, adaptability, and ambition" with "genius beats, hooks, arrangements, and vocals (though not lyrics)", music that "will stand forever as a reproach to the puritanical notion that pop music is slick or shallow and that's the end of it". During the 1990s, as Jackson lost control of his "troubling life", his music suffered and began to shape "an arc not merely of promise fulfilled and outlived, but of something approaching tragedy: a phenomenally ebullient child star tops himself like none before, only to transmute audibly into a lost weirdo". In the 2000s, Christgau wrote: "Jackson's obsession with fame, his grotesque life magnified by his grotesque wealth, are such an offense to rock aesthetes that the fact that he's a great musician is now often forgotten".
Artistry
Influences
Jackson was influenced by musicians including James Brown, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, and David Ruffin. Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson, but Brown was his greatest inspiration; he later said that as a small child, his mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson described being "mesmerized".
Jackson's vocal technique was influenced by Diana Ross; his use of the oooh interjection from a young age was something Ross had used on many of her songs with the Supremes. She was a mother figure to him, and he often watched her rehearse. He said he had learned a lot from watching how she moved and sang, and that she had encouraged him to have confidence in himself.
Choreographer David Winters, who met Jackson while choreographing the 1971 Diana Ross TV special Diana!, said that Jackson watched the musical West Side Story almost every week, and it was his favorite film; he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.
Vocal style
Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed. Between 1971 and 1975, his voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. He was known for his vocal range. With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder, and wrote that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly." By the time of 1982's Thriller, Rolling Stone wrote that Jackson was singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".
The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. Of Invincible, Rolling Stone wrote that, at 43, Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Joseph Vogel notes Jackson's ability to use non-verbal sounds to express emotion. Neil McCormick wrote that Jackson's unorthodox singing style "was original and utterly distinctive".
Musicianship
Jackson had no formal music training and could not read or write music notation. He is credited for playing guitar, keyboard, and drums, but was not proficient in them. When composing, he recorded ideas by beatboxing and imitating instruments vocally. Describing the process, he said: "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder. I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick and that's what inspires the melody." Engineer Robert Hoffman recalled that after Jackson came in with a song he had written overnight, Jackson sang every note of every chord to a guitar player. Hoffman also remembered Jackson singing string arrangements part by part into a cassette recorder.
Dance
Jackson danced from a young age as part of the Jackson 5, and incorporated dance extensively in his performances and music videos. According to Sanjoy Roy of The Guardian, Jackson would "flick and retract his limbs like switchblades, or snap out of a tornado spin into a perfectly poised toe-stand". The moonwalk, taught to him by Jeffrey Daniel, was Jackson's signature dance move and one of the most famous of the 20th century. Jackson is credited for coining the name "moonwalk"; the move was previously known as the "backslide". His other moves included the robot, crotch grab, and the "anti-gravity" lean of the "Smooth Criminal" video.
Themes and genres
Jackson explored genres including pop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, post-disco, dance-pop and new jack swing. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful. Its tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature", and "The Girl Is Mine", the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".
With Off the Wall, Jackson's "vocabulary of grunts, squeals, hiccups, moans, and asides" vividly showed his maturation into an adult, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). The album's title track suggested to the critic a parallel between Jackson and Stevie Wonder's "oddball" music personas: "Since childhood his main contact with the real world has been on stage and in bed." With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson depicts an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered her child, and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in a homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He observed that "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover is seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, and "Man in the Mirror" is a ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" is an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a paradoxical person. The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". It was the first Jackson album in which social ills became a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. Dangerous contains sexually charged songs such as "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith". In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.
HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. In the new jack swing-funk rock tracks "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", and the R&B ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments his "fall from grace"; "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are operatic pop songs. In "D.S.", Jackson attacks lawyer Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who had prosecuted him in both child sexual abuse cases; he describes Sneddon as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Invincible includes urban soul tracks such as "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn", and "Butterflies" and mixes hip hop, pop, and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".
Music videos and choreography
Jackson released "Thriller", a 14-minute music video directed by John Landis, in 1983. The zombie-themed video "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on MTV, which had launched two years earlier. Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", which led to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, and helped other black music artists gain recognition. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped the relatively new channel's viewing figures, and MTV's focus shifted toward pop and R&B. His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage shows, making it acceptable for artists to lip-sync to music video on stage. The choreography in Thriller has been copied in Indian films and prisons in the Philippines. Thriller marked an increase in scale for music videos, and was named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.
In "Bad"'s 19-minute video—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson used sexual imagery and choreography, and touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Winfrey in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he said it was spontaneously compelled by the music. Time magazine described the "Bad" video as "infamous". It featured Wesley Snipes; Jackson's later videos often featured famous cameo roles. For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe to lock the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted for the device. The video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, but in 1989 was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards and won a Golden Lion Award for its special effects. It won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988; in 2001 the award was renamed in his honor. The "Black or White" video simultaneously premiered on November 14, 1991, in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500million people, the largest audience ever for a music video at the time. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped introduce morphing to music videos. It was controversial for scenes in which Jackson rubs his crotch, vandalizes cars, and throws a garbage can through a storefront. He apologized and removed the final scene of the video.
"In the Closet" featured Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. "Remember the Time" was set in ancient Egypt, and featured Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson. The video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, gained a record 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations, and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction". The song and its video are Jackson's response to being accused of child molestation in 1993. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. It has been reported as the most expensive music video ever made, at $7million; Romanek has contradicted this. The "Earth Song" video was nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Michael Jackson's Ghosts, a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston, premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by the video for the Pharrell Williams song "Happy". The 2001 video for "You Rock My World" lasts over 13 minutes, was directed by Paul Hunter, and features Chris Tucker and Marlon Brando. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video in 2002.
In December 2009, the Library of Congress selected "Thriller" as the only music video to be preserved in the National Film Registry, as a work of "enduring importance to American culture". Huey wrote that Jackson transformed the music video into an artform and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameos, while breaking down racial barriers.
Honors and awards
Jackson's estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide make him one of the best-selling music artist in history. He had 13 number-one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. He was invited and honored by a President of the United States at the White House three times. In 1984, he was honored with a "Presidential Public Safety Commendation" award by Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian endeavors. In 1990, he was honored as the "Artist of the Decade" by George H. W. Bush. In 1992, he was honored as a "Point of Light Ambassador" by Bush for inviting disadvantaged children to his Neverland Ranch.
He won hundreds of awards, more than any other popular music recording artist. His awards include 39 Guinness World Records, including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a record 26 American Music Awards, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s". He also received the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Jacksons, and in 1984 as a solo artist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and again as a solo artist in 2001. In 2002, he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was the first recording artist to be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was among the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
In 1988, Fisk University honored him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 1992, he was invested as a titular king of Sanwi, a traditional kingdom located in the south-east of Ivory Coast. In July 2009, the Lunar Republic Society named a crater on the Moon after Jackson. In August, for what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him. In 2014, the British Council of Cultural Relations deemed Jackson's life one of the 80 most important cultural moments of the 20th century. World Vitiligo Day has been celebrated on June 25, the anniversary of Jackson's death, to raise awareness of the auto-immune disorder that Jackson suffered from.
Earnings
In 1989, Jackson's annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts were estimated at $125million. Forbes placed Jackson's annual income at $35million in 1996 and $20million in 1997. Estimates of Jackson's net worth during his life range from negative $285million to positive $350million for 2002, 2003 and 2007. Forbes reported in August 2018 that Jackson's total career pretax earnings in life and death were $4.2billion. Sales of his recordings through Sony's music unit earned him an estimated $300million in royalties. He may have earned another $400million from concerts, music publishing (including his share of the Beatles catalog), endorsements, merchandising and music videos.
In 2013, the executors of Jackson's estate filed a petition in the United States Tax Court as a result of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over US federal estate taxes. The executors claim that it was worth about $7million, the IRS that it was worth over $1.1billion. In February 2014, the IRS reported that Jackson's estate owed $702million; $505million in taxes, and $197million in penalties. A trial was held from February 6 to 24, 2017. In 2021, the Tax Court issued a ruling in favor of the estate, ruling that the estate's total combined value of the estate was $111.5 million and that the value of Jackson's name and likeness was $4 million (not the $61 million estimated by the IRS's outside expert witness).
In 2016, Forbes estimated annual gross earnings by the Jackson Estate at $825million, the largest ever recorded for a celebrity, mostly due to the sale of the Sony/ATV catalog. In 2018, the figure was $400million. It was the eighth year since his death that Jackson's annual earnings were reported to be over $100million, thus bringing Jackson's postmortem total to $2.4billion. In 2020, Forbes recognized Jackson as the top-earning dead celebrity each year since his death except 2012.
Discography
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music & Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Filmography
The Wiz (1978)
Captain EO (1986)
Moonwalker (1988)
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
Men in Black II (2002)
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
Bad 25 (2012)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
Tours
Bad (1987–1989)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993)
HIStory World Tour (1996–1997)
MJ & Friends (1999)
Notes
References
Citations
Print sources
Further reading
External links
Michael Jackson at the FBI's website
1958 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American singers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American singers
Accidental deaths in California
African-American businesspeople
African-American choreographers
African-American male dancers
African-American male singers
African-American record producers
African-American rock singers
African-American songwriters
American beatboxers
American child singers
American choreographers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American disco singers
American expatriates in Ireland
American funk singers
American humanitarians
American male dancers
American male pop singers
American male singers
American male songwriters
American manslaughter victims
American multi-instrumentalists
American nonprofit businesspeople
American philanthropists
American pop rock singers
American rhythm and blues singers
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
American soul singers
American tenors
Boy sopranos
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"William George Peel (185415 April 1916) was the Anglican Bishop of Mombasa in what is now Kenya. He was accused of heresy in the Kikuyu controversy.\n\nBiography\nHe was born in 1854, educated at Blackheath Proprietary School, and ordained in 1875. After a curacy in Trowbridge, he went out as a missionary to India, where he rose to be principal of Noble College Masulipatam. Appointment to the episcopate as the third bishop of Mombasa came in 1899 — he was consecrated a bishop on St Peter's Day (29 June) 1899 by Frederick Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury, at St Paul's Cathedral. After celebrating an ecumenical communion service with Methodists and Presbyterians in Kikuyu, and giving communion to non-Anglicans, he was accused of heresy by Bishop Frank Weston of Zanzibar in the Kikuyu controversy. He died in post on 15 April 1916.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1854 births\nAnglican missionaries in India\nAnglican bishops of Mombasa\n19th-century Anglican bishops in Africa\n20th-century Anglican bishops in Africa\n1916 deaths\nEnglish Anglican missionaries",
"Events in the year 1933 in Bulgaria.\n\nIncumbents\n\nEvents \n\n February 27 – Following the burning of Germany's parliament building, Bulgarian Communist Georgi Dimitrov is accused of co-conspiring in what the Nazi's claimed was arson. He was later acquitted.\n\nReferences \n\n \n1930s in Bulgaria\nYears of the 20th century in Bulgaria\nBulgaria\nBulgaria"
] |
[
"Michael Jackson",
"2002-2005: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal",
"what was he accused of in 2002-2005?",
"Prince was briefly extended over a railing,"
] |
C_56dffd56bfef46f9af2d69c5fc11f313_1
|
What was the court verdict for the second child sexual abuse allegation?
| 2 |
What was the court verdict for Michael Jackson's second child sexual abuse allegation?
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Michael Jackson
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Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son Prince onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm with a cloth loosely draped over Prince's face. Prince was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Bashir's crew was with Jackson during this incident; the program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy. As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time. After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly, Jackson was arrested in November 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old boy shown in the film. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation, he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. Unknown to Jackson, Bahrain was also where the family had intended to send Jackson if he had been convicted, according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011. On November 17, 2003, three days before Jackson's arrest, Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units. CANNOTANSWER
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Jackson was acquitted on all counts.
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded individual music artist in history.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, while Bad was the first album to produce five U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend. The lawsuit was settled out of civil court; Jackson was not indicted due to lack of evidence. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf in either case. In 2009, while preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era) and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. His honors include 15 Grammy Awards, 6 Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award and 39 Guinness World Records, including the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time". Jackson's inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted) and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, his estate earned $825million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.
Life and career
Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, near Chicago, on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. Joe's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout; family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose", and physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to punish any mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael. Katherine said that although whipping came to be considered abuse, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which were harder on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble. Jackson said his youth was lonely and isolated.
Later in 1964, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to bolster her career in television—sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line". The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house on a two-acre estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In 1975, the Jackson 5 left Motown. They signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records, and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).
In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical directed by Sidney Lumet. It costarred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night". In 1978, Jackson broke his nose during a dance routine. A rhinoplasty led to breathing difficulties that later affected his career. He was referred to Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's operations.
Jackson's fifth solo album, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–1983)
Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio, and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use. The songs were released in 2014. Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory (1984). In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in late 1982. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983, and became the best-selling album of all time in the US and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated copies. It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to produce seven Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16 to an estimated audience of , and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars. Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first Emmy Award nomination. Wearing a glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his moonwalk dance, which Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier, and it became his signature dance in his repertoire. Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television. But at the request of Motown founder Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for an opportunity to do a solo performance. Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance. Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, Thriller won eight awards, and Jackson won an award for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. Winning eight Grammys in one ceremony is a record he holds with the band Santana. Jackson and Quincy Jones won the award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical). Thriller won Album of the Year (with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer), and the single won Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male). "Billie Jean" won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male), with Jackson as songwriter and singer respectively. Thriller won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical), acknowledging Bruce Swedien for his work on the album. At the 11th Annual American Music Awards, Jackson won another eight awards and became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit. He also won Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Artist. "Beat It" won Favorite Soul/R&B Video, Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Pop/Rock Single. The album collectively won Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, with about $2 for every album sold (), and was making record-breaking profits. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each. In the same year, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a music documentary, won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Longform). Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too." The New York Times wrote "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else."
On May 14, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award recognizing his support of alcohol and drug abuse charities, and in recognition of his support for the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson allowed the campaign to use "Beat It" for its public service announcements.
Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career (1984–1985)
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement (). The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean", with revised lyrics, as its jingle.
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by Phil Dusenberry, a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its now closed Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for $10million. The second campaign covered 20 countries and provided financial support for Jackson's Bad album and 1987–88 world tour. Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as LA Gear, Suzuki, and Sony, but none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi.
The Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons and showcased Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson donated his share of the proceeds, an estimated , to charity. During the last concert of the Victory Tour at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jackson announced his split from The Jacksons during "Shake Your Body". His charitable work continued with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa. It earned $63million (), and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20million copies sold. It won four Grammy Awards in 1985, including Song of the Year for Jackson and Richie as its writers. The project's creators received two special American Music Awards honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Jones, and promoter Ken Kragen received special awards for their roles in the song's creation.
Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s, and learned that McCartney was making $40million a year from owning the rights to other artists' songs. By 1983, Jackson had begun buying publishing rights to others' songs, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson's early acquisitions of music catalogs and song copyrights such as the Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968), Len Barry's "1–2–3" (1965), and Dion DiMucci's "The Wanderer" (1961) and "Runaround Sue" (1961).
In 1984, Robert Holmes à Court announced he was selling the ATV Music Publishing catalog comprising the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including most of the Beatles' material. In 1981, McCartney had been offered the catalog for £20million ($40million). Jackson submitted a bid of $46million on November 20, 1984. When Jackson and McCartney were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, and did not pursue an offer on his own. Jackson's agents were unable to come to a deal, and in May 1985 left talks after having spent more than $1million and four months of due diligence work on the negotiations. In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative offer to buy ATV Music for $50million; in early August, Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson's increased bid of $47.5million () was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence. Jackson agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.
Changing appearance, tabloids, and films (1986–1987)
Jackson's skin had been medium-brown during his youth, but from the mid-1980s gradually grew paler. The change drew widespread media coverage, including speculation that he had been bleaching his skin. Jackson's dermatologist, Arnold Klein, said he observed in 1983 that Jackson had vitiligo, a condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment, and sensitivity to sunlight. He also identified discoid lupus erythematosus in Jackson. He diagnosed Jackson with lupus that year, and with vitiligo in 1986. Vitiligo's drastic effects on the body can cause psychological distress. Jackson used fair-colored makeup, and possibly skin-bleaching prescription creams, to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. The creams would have further lightened his skin, and, with the application of makeup, he could appear very pale. Jackson said he had not purposely bleached his skin and could not control his vitiligo, adding, "When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me." He became friends with Klein and Klein's assistant, Debbie Rowe. Rowe later became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his first two children.
In his 1988 autobiography and a 1993 interview, Jackson said he had had two rhinoplasty surgeries and a cleft chin surgery but no more than that. He said he lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet to achieve a dancer's body. Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy, and speculated he was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Periods of weight loss became a recurring problem later in his life. After his death, Jackson's mother said that he first turned to cosmetic procedures to remedy his vitiligo, because he did not want to look like a "spotted cow". She said he had received more than the two cosmetic surgeries he claimed and speculated that he had become addicted to them.
In 1986, tabloids reported that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, and pictured him lying in a glass box. The claim was untrue, and tabloids reported that he spread the story himself. They also reported that Jackson took female hormone shots to keep his voice high and facial hair wispy, proposed to Elizabeth Taylor and possibly had a shrine of her, and had cosmetic surgery on his eyes. Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo denied all of them, except for Jackson having a chamber. DiLeo added "I don't know if he sleeps in it. I'm not for it. But Michael thinks it's something that's probably healthy for him. He's a bit of a health fanatic."
When Jackson took his pet chimpanzee Bubbles to tour in Japan, the media portrayed Jackson as an aspiring Disney cartoon character who befriended animals. It was also reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "Elephant Man"). In June 1987, the Chicago Tribune reported Jackson's publicist bidding $1million for the skeleton to the London Hospital Medical College on his behalf. The college maintained the skeleton was not for sale. DiLeo said Jackson had an "absorbing interest" in Merrick, "purely based on his awareness of the ethical, medical and historical significance."
These tabloid stories inspired the name "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise. According to music journalist Joseph Vogel, the demeaning name first appeared in British tabloid The Sun in 1985. The name's origins come from Jacko Macacco, the name of a famous monkey used in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in the early 1820s. "Jacko" was used in Cockney slang to refer to monkeys in general, hence a racist connotation behind the name.
In 1987, Rolling Stone described Jackson as "the flighty-genius star-child, a celebrity virtually all his life, who dwells in a fairy-tale kingdom of fellow celebrities, animals, mannequins and cartoons, who provides endless fodder for the tabloids.... But it’s the same child in Michael who inspires the artistry that fuels all the subsidiary industries, who turns his primal fears and fantasies into wondrous, hyperkinetic and emotional music."
Jackson worked with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute $30million 3D film Captain EO, which ran from 1986 at Disneyland and Epcot, and later at Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland. After having been removed in the late 1990s, it returned to the theme park for several years after Jackson's death. In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Katherine Jackson said this might have been because some Witnesses strongly opposed the Thriller video. Michael had denounced it in a Witness publication in 1984.
Bad, autobiography, and Neverland (1987–1990)
Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated, with the industry expecting another major success. It became the first album to produce five US number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Another song, "Smooth Criminal", peaked at number seven. Bad won the 1988 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone". Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards in 1989 after Bad generated five number-one singles, became the first album to top the charts in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and 1988. By 2012, it had sold between 30 and 45million copies worldwide.
The Bad world tour ran from September 12, 1987, to January 14, 1989. In Japan, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record for a single tour. The 504,000 people who attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium set a new Guinness World Record.
In 1988, Jackson released his autobiography, Moonwalk, with input from Stephen Davis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It sold 200,000 copies, and reached the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Jackson discussed his childhood, the Jackson 5, and the abuse from his father. He attributed his changing facial appearance to three plastic surgeries, puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hairstyle, and stage lighting. In October, Jackson released a film, Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films starring Jackson and Joe Pesci. In the US it was released direct-to-video and became the best-selling video cassette. The RIAA certified it as eight time Platinum.
In March 1988, Jackson purchased of land near Santa Ynez, California, to build a new home, Neverland Ranch, at a cost of $17million (). He installed a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a movie theater and a zoo. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. Shortly afterwards, he appeared in the first Western television advertisement in the Soviet Union.
Jackson became known as the "King of Pop", a nickname that Jackson's publicists embraced. When Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, she called him "the true king of pop, rock and soul." President George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade". From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $455,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. His rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration won Jackson a second Emmy nomination. Jackson was the bestselling artist of the 1980s.
Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII halftime show (1991–1993)
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65million (), a record-breaking deal, beating Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records. In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous, co-produced with Teddy Riley. It was certified eight times platinum in the US, and by 2018 had sold 32million copies worldwide. In the US, the first single, "Black or White", was the album's highest-charting song; it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and achieved similar chart performances worldwide. The second single, "Remember the Time" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992, Dangerous was the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" the best-selling single of the year worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. In 1993, he performed "Remember the Time" at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he twisted his ankle during dance rehearsals. In the UK, "Heal the World" made No. 2 on the charts in 1992.
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to use the theme park rides, and sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. That July, Jackson published his second book, Dancing the Dream, a collection of poetry. The Dangerous World Tour ran between June 1992 and November 1993 and grossed (); Jackson performed for 3.5million people in 70 concerts, all of which were outside the US. Part of the proceeds went to Heal the World Foundation. Jackson sold the broadcast rights of the tour to HBO for $20million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.
Following the death of HIV/AIDS spokesperson and friend Ryan White, Jackson pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research and performed "Gone Too Soon", a song dedicated to White, and "Heal the World" at the gala. Jackson visited Africa in early 1992; on his first stop in Gabon he was greeted by more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read "Welcome Home Michael", and was awarded an Officer of the National Order of Merit from President Omar Bongo. During his trip to Ivory Coast, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
In January 1993, Jackson performed at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in Pasadena, California. The NFL sought a big-name artist to keep ratings high during halftime following dwindling audience figures. It was the first Super Bowl whose half-time performance drew greater audience figures than the game. Jackson played "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Dangerous rose 90 places in the album chart after the performance.
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993. He spoke of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood, and said that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, and stated for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its release.
In January 1993, Jackson won three American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence. In February, he won the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He attended the award ceremony with Brooke Shields. Dangerous was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (for "Black or White"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Jam") and Best R&B Song ("Jam"), and Swedien and Riley won the award for Best Engineered – Non Classical.
First child sexual abuse accusations and first marriage (1993–1995)
In August 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler. Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. While Jordan's mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested him, her position wavered a few days later. Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money. Jackson's older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile; she later retracted this, saying she had been forced into it by her abusive husband. Police raided Jackson's home in August and found two legal large-format art books featuring young boys playing, running and swimming in various states of undress. Jackson denied knowing of the books' content and claimed if they were there someone had to send them to him and he did not open them. Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match. In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for a reported total sum of $23 million. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.
Jackson had been taking painkillers for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations. On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked close friend Elizabeth Taylor for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his relationship with Pepsi-Cola which sponsored the tour.
In late 1993, Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez. The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect Jackson's sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley's career as a singer. Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995. Presley cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the next month and only sought to reclaim her maiden name as her settlement. After the divorce, Judge Perez said, "They lasted longer than I thought they would. I gave them a year. They lasted a year and a half."
Jackson was set to compose music for the Sega Genesis video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), but left the project around the time the sexual abuse allegations surfaced and went uncredited. Jackson was a Sonic fan, and had collaborated with Sega for the 1990 arcade game Moonwalker. The reasons for Jackson's departure and whether his compositions remain in the released game have been the subject of debate. Sega Technical Institute director Roger Hector and Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Naoto Ohshima said that Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music reworked following the allegations. However, Jackson's musical director Brad Buxer and two other members of Jackson's team, Doug Grigsby III and Ciorocco Jones, said the music remained and that Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis replicated his music.
HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood (1995–1997)
In June 1995, Jackson released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, is a greatest hits album (reissued in 2001 as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I). The second disc, HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for eight million shipments in the US. It is the best-selling multi-disc album of all time, with 20million copies (40million units) sold worldwide. HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The New York Times reviewed it as "the testimony of a musician whose self-pity now equals his talent".
The first single from HIStory was "Scream/Childhood". "Scream", a duet with Jackson's youngest sister Janet, protests the media's treatment of Jackson during the 1993 child abuse allegations against him. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The second single, "You Are Not Alone", holds the Guinness world record for the first song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance" in 1995.
In 1995 the Anti-Defamation League and other groups complained that "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me", the original lyrics of "They Don't Care About Us", were antisemitic. Jackson released a version with revised words.
In late 1995, Jackson was admitted to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance, caused by a stress-related panic attack. In November, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He retained ownership of half the company, earning $95million up front () as well as the rights to more songs.
"Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995. It became the 87th-bestselling single in the UK. At the 1996 Brit Awards, Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" was disrupted by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, who was protesting what Cocker saw as Jackson's "Christ-like" persona. Jackson said the stage invasion was "disgusting and cowardly".
In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Jackson promoted HIStory with the HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996, to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed . During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology assistant, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8million settlement (). In 2004, after the second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at copies, making it the best-selling remix album of all time. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, the album reached number 24 and was certified platinum.
Label dispute and Invincible (1997–2002)
From October 1997 to September 2001, Jackson worked on his tenth solo album, Invincible, which cost to record. In June 1999, Jackson joined Luciano Pavarotti for a War Child benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show raised a million dollars for refugees of the Kosovo War, and additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Later that month, Jackson organized a series of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO. From August 1999 to 2000, he lived in New York City at 4 East 74th Street. At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s. In 2000, Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson performed with his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Monica, Liza Minnelli, and Slash. The first show was marred by technical lapses, and the crowd booed a speech by Marlon Brando. Almost 30million people watched the television broadcast of the shows in November. After the September 11 attacks, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001. Jackson performed "What More Can I Give" as the finale.
The release of Invincible was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits, but clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. Invincible was released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and the last album of original material he released in his lifetime. It debuted at number one in 13 countries and went on to sell eightmillion copies worldwide, receiving double-platinum certification in the US.
On January 9, 2002, Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century. Later that year, an anonymous surrogate mother gave birth to his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), who had been conceived by artificial insemination. On November 20, Jackson briefly held Blanket over the railing of his Berlin hotel room, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". On January 22, promoter Marcel Avram filed a breach of contract complaint against Jackson for failing to perform two planned 1999 concerts. In March, a Santa Maria jury ordered Jackson to pay Avram $5.3million. On December 18, 2003, Jackson's attorneys dropped all appeals on the verdict and settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
On April 24, 2002, Jackson performed at Apollo Theater. The concert was a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and former President Bill Clinton. The money collected would be used to encourage citizens to vote. It raised $2.5million. The concert was called Michael Jackson: Live at the Apollo and this would be Jackson's final on-stage performance.
In July 2002, Jackson called Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola "a racist, and very, very, very devilish," and someone who exploits black artists for his own gain, at Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem. The accusation prompted Sharpton to form a coalition investigating whether Mottola exploited black artists. Jackson charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger". Responding to those attacks, Sony issued a statement calling them "ludicrous, spiteful, and hurtful" and defended Mottola as someone who had championed Jackson's career for many years. Sony ultimately refused to renew Jackson's contract and claimed that a promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the US for Invincible.
Second child sexual abuse allegations, trial, and acquittal (2002–2005)
Beginning in May 2002, a documentary film crew led by Martin Bashir followed Jackson for several months. The documentary, broadcast in February 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson, showed Jackson holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a 12-year-old boy. He said that he saw nothing wrong with having sleepovers with minors and sharing his bed and bedroom with various people, which aroused controversy. He insisted that the sleepovers were not sexual and that his words had been misunderstood.
On November 18, 2003, Sony released Number Ones, a greatest hits compilation. It was certified five-times platinum by the RIAA, and nine times platinum in the UK, for shipments of at least 2.7million units.
On December 18, 2003, Santa Barbara authorities charged Jackson with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks. Jackson denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. Jackson found the experience stressful and it affected his health. If convicted, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he became reclusive and moved to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
In December 2009, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released files on Michael Jackson. These files revealed the Bureau's role in the 2005 trial and the 1993 allegations against Jackson, among other revelations. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf.
Final years and This Is It (2006–2009)
In April 2006, Jackson agreed to use a piece of his ATV catalog stake, then worth about $1billion, as collateral against his $270million worth of loans from Bank of America. Bank of America had sold the loans to Fortress Investments, an investment company that buys distressed loans, the year before. As part of the agreement, Fortress Investments provided Jackson a new loan of $300million with reduced interest payments (). Sony Music would have the option to buy half of his stake, or about 25% of the catalog, at a set price. Jackson's financial managers had urged him to shed part of his stake to avoid bankruptcy. The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure, while Jackson lived in Bahrain at the hospitality of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son. At least 30 of Jackson's employees had not been paid on time and were owed $306,000 in back wages; Jackson was ordered to pay $100,000 in penalties.
In early 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup, Two Seas Records; nothing came of the deal, and Two Seas CEO Guy Holmes later said it was never finalized. That October, Fox News reported that Jackson had been recording at a studio in County Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known what Jackson was working on, or who had paid for the sessions; his publicist stated that he had left Two Seas by then.
In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC reported that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am. On November 15, Jackson briefly performed "We Are the World" at the World Music Awards in London and accepted the Diamond Award honoring the sale of over records. The event was Jackson's last public performance in his lifetime. He returned to the U.S. in December 2006, settling in Las Vegas, and attended James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia later that month, where he gave a eulogy calling Brown his greatest inspiration.
In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought another music publishing company, Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. The deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem and Beck, among others. In a brief interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Jackson said he had no regrets about his lifelong career despite difficulties and "deliberate attempts to hurt [him]". That March, Jackson visited a US Army post in Japan, Camp Zama, to greet over 3,000 troops and their families.
In September 2007, Jackson was still working on his next album, which he never completed. For the 25th anniversary of Thriller in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25, with two remixes released as singles: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008". For Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest hits albums, King of Pop, with different tracklists for different regions.
In 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson had used as collateral for his loans. Fortress sold Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. The deal earned him . Jackson arranged to sell a collection of his memorabilia of more than 1,000 items through Julien's Auction House. On the eve of the first public exhibit, Jackson canceled the auction after earning between $200million to $300million of initial sales from a series of concerts to be held in London.
In March 2009, amid speculation about his finances and health, Jackson announced a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, at a press conference at The O2 Arena. The shows were to be his first major concerts since the HIStory World Tour in 1997. Jackson suggested he would retire after the shows. The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, predicted the first 10 dates would earn Jackson £50million. The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record-breaking ticket sales; over one million were sold in less than two hours. The concerts were to run from July 13, 2009, to March 6, 2010. Jackson moved to Los Angeles, where he rehearsed in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega, whom he had worked with during his previous tours. Most rehearsals took place at the Staples Center owned by AEG.
Death
On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first This Is It show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from cardiac arrest. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 pm Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later. Jackson was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after Jackson's arrival there, but were unsuccessful, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).
Jackson was administered propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; his death was caused by a propofol overdose. News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload, and putting unprecedented strain on services and websites including Google, AOL Instant Messenger, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Overall, web traffic rose by between 11% and 20%. MTV and BET aired marathons of Jackson's music videos, and Jackson specials aired on television stations around the world. MTV briefly returned to its original music video format, and aired hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.
Memorial service
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Over 1.6million fans applied for tickets to the memorial; the 8,750 recipients were drawn at random, and each received two tickets. The memorial service was one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of 31.1million and a worldwide audience of an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion.
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the memorial, and Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies. Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children: "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Katherine, speaking publicly for the first time, wept as she addressed the crowd. The Rev. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. Jackson's body was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Criminal investigation and prosecution of Conrad Murray
In August 2009, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide. Law enforcement officials charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter on February 8, 2010. In late 2011, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and held without bail to await sentencing. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison.
Posthumous sales
At the 2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, including two for his compilation album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26. In the year after his death, more than 16.1million of Jackson's albums sold in the US and 35million albums sold worldwide, more than any other artist in 2009. He became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, with 2.6million song downloads. Thriller, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson became the first catalog albums to outsell any new album. Jackson also became the first artist to have four of the top 20 best-selling albums in a single year in the US.
Following the surge in sales, in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250million deal () with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017; it had been due to expire in 2015. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history. They agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. The deal was extended in 2017. That July, a Los Angeles court awarded Jones $9.4million of disputed royalty payments for Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate's stake in EMI for $287.5million.
In 2014, Jackson became the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. The following year, Thriller became the first album to be certified for 30million shipments by the RIAA; a year later, it was certified 33× platinum, after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
Posthumous releases and productions
The first posthumous Jackson song, "This Is It", co-written in the 1980s with Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals. It was followed by a documentary film about the rehearsals for the canceled This Is It tour, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and a compilation album. Despite a limited two-week engagement, the film became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, with earnings of more than worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album, Michael, and the promotional single "Breaking News". Jackson collaborator Will.i.am expressed disgust, saying that Jackson would not have approved the release.
Video game developer Ubisoft released a music video game featuring Jackson for the 2010 holiday season, Michael Jackson: The Experience; it was among the first games to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the motion-detecting camera systems for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Xscape, an album of unreleased material, was released on May 13, 2014. Later that year, Queen released a duet recorded with Jackson and Freddie Mercury in the 1980s. A compilation album, Scream, was released on September 29, 2017.
In October 2011, the theater company Cirque du Soleil launched Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, a $57-million production, in Montreal, with a permanent show resident in Las Vegas. A larger and more theatrical Cirque show, Michael Jackson: One, designed for residency at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opened on May 23, 2013, in a renovated theater. A jukebox musical, MJ the Musical, premiered on Broadway in 2022.
In April 2011, Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of Fulham Football Club, unveiled a statue of Jackson outside the club stadium, Craven Cottage. It was moved to the National Football Museum in Manchester in May 2014, and removed from display in March 2019 following renewed sexual assault allegations.
In 2012, in an attempt to end a family dispute, Jackson's brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing executors of Jackson's estate and his mother's advisors over the legitimacy of his brother's will. T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael Jackson's children after false reports of Katherine Jackson going missing. A duet between Jackson and Justin Timberlake titled "Love Never Felt So Good" was released in 2014, making Jackson the first artist to have a top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when the single reached number 9. In November 2019, it was reported that a Jackson biopic, produced by Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) producer Graham King, was in the works, with the screenplay written by John Logan. Jackson's estate granted King the rights to his music and will work with King.
Posthumous child sexual abuse allegations
In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old (1989–1996). In 2014, a case was filed by James Safechuck, alleging sexual abuse over a four-year period from the age of ten (1988–1992). Both had testified in Jackson's defense during the 1993 allegations; Robson did so again in 2005. In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed on the grounds of being filed too late. Safechuck's claim was also time-barred. In 2017, it was ruled that Jackson's corporations could not be held accountable for his alleged past actions. The rulings were appealed, and on October 20, 2020, Safechuck's lawsuit against Jackson's corporations was again dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that there was no evidence that Safechuck had a relationship with Jackson's companies. On April 26, 2021, Robson's case was dismissed because of a lack of supporting evidence that the defendants exercised control over Jackson.
Robson and Safechuck described allegations in graphic detail in the documentary Leaving Neverland, released in March 2019. Radio stations in New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands removed Jackson's music from their playlists. Jackson's family condemned the film as a "public lynching", and the Jackson estate released a statement calling the film a "tabloid character assassination [Jackson] endured in life, and now in death". Close associates of Jackson, such as Corey Feldman, Aaron Carter, Brett Barnes, and Macaulay Culkin, said that Jackson had not molested them. Rebuttal documentaries, such as Square One: Michael Jackson, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary and Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, presented information countering the claims. Jackson's album sales increased following the documentary. Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said she and a colleague interviewed about thirty music executives who believed Jackson's legacy could withstand the controversy. In late 2019, some New Zealand and Canadian radio stations re-added Jackson's music to their playlists, citing "positive listener survey results".
On February 21, 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The suit sought to compel HBO to participate in a non-confidential arbitration that could result in $100million or more in damages rewarded to the estate. HBO said they did not breach a contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. In September 2019, Judge George H. Wu denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to arbitrate. HBO appealed, but in December 2020 the appeal court affirmed Judge Wu's ruling.
Legacy
Jackson has been referred to as the "King of Pop" for having transformed the art of music videos and paving the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation. His influence extended beyond the music industry; he impacted dance, led fashion trends, and raised awareness for global affairs. Jackson's music and videos fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. In songs such as "Man in the Mirror", "Black or White", Heal the World, "Earth Song" and "They Don't Care About Us", Jackson's music emphasized racial integration and environmentalism and protested injustice. He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, and his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Danyel Smith, chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of Vibe, described Jackson as "the Greatest Star". Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". BET said Jackson was "quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" whose "sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artists of all genres".
In 1984, Time pop critic Jay Cocks wrote that "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." He described Jackson as a "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too." In 2003, The Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius". At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy called Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived". In a June 28, 2009 Baltimore Sun article, Jill Rosen wrote that Jackson's legacy influenced fields including sound, dance, fashion, music videos and celebrity.
Pop critic Robert Christgau wrote that Jackson's work from the 1970s to the early 1990s showed "immense originality, adaptability, and ambition" with "genius beats, hooks, arrangements, and vocals (though not lyrics)", music that "will stand forever as a reproach to the puritanical notion that pop music is slick or shallow and that's the end of it". During the 1990s, as Jackson lost control of his "troubling life", his music suffered and began to shape "an arc not merely of promise fulfilled and outlived, but of something approaching tragedy: a phenomenally ebullient child star tops himself like none before, only to transmute audibly into a lost weirdo". In the 2000s, Christgau wrote: "Jackson's obsession with fame, his grotesque life magnified by his grotesque wealth, are such an offense to rock aesthetes that the fact that he's a great musician is now often forgotten".
Artistry
Influences
Jackson was influenced by musicians including James Brown, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, and David Ruffin. Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson, but Brown was his greatest inspiration; he later said that as a small child, his mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson described being "mesmerized".
Jackson's vocal technique was influenced by Diana Ross; his use of the oooh interjection from a young age was something Ross had used on many of her songs with the Supremes. She was a mother figure to him, and he often watched her rehearse. He said he had learned a lot from watching how she moved and sang, and that she had encouraged him to have confidence in himself.
Choreographer David Winters, who met Jackson while choreographing the 1971 Diana Ross TV special Diana!, said that Jackson watched the musical West Side Story almost every week, and it was his favorite film; he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.
Vocal style
Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed. Between 1971 and 1975, his voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. He was known for his vocal range. With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder, and wrote that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly." By the time of 1982's Thriller, Rolling Stone wrote that Jackson was singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".
The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. Of Invincible, Rolling Stone wrote that, at 43, Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Joseph Vogel notes Jackson's ability to use non-verbal sounds to express emotion. Neil McCormick wrote that Jackson's unorthodox singing style "was original and utterly distinctive".
Musicianship
Jackson had no formal music training and could not read or write music notation. He is credited for playing guitar, keyboard, and drums, but was not proficient in them. When composing, he recorded ideas by beatboxing and imitating instruments vocally. Describing the process, he said: "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder. I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick and that's what inspires the melody." Engineer Robert Hoffman recalled that after Jackson came in with a song he had written overnight, Jackson sang every note of every chord to a guitar player. Hoffman also remembered Jackson singing string arrangements part by part into a cassette recorder.
Dance
Jackson danced from a young age as part of the Jackson 5, and incorporated dance extensively in his performances and music videos. According to Sanjoy Roy of The Guardian, Jackson would "flick and retract his limbs like switchblades, or snap out of a tornado spin into a perfectly poised toe-stand". The moonwalk, taught to him by Jeffrey Daniel, was Jackson's signature dance move and one of the most famous of the 20th century. Jackson is credited for coining the name "moonwalk"; the move was previously known as the "backslide". His other moves included the robot, crotch grab, and the "anti-gravity" lean of the "Smooth Criminal" video.
Themes and genres
Jackson explored genres including pop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, post-disco, dance-pop and new jack swing. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful. Its tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature", and "The Girl Is Mine", the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".
With Off the Wall, Jackson's "vocabulary of grunts, squeals, hiccups, moans, and asides" vividly showed his maturation into an adult, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). The album's title track suggested to the critic a parallel between Jackson and Stevie Wonder's "oddball" music personas: "Since childhood his main contact with the real world has been on stage and in bed." With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson depicts an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered her child, and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in a homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He observed that "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover is seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, and "Man in the Mirror" is a ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" is an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a paradoxical person. The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". It was the first Jackson album in which social ills became a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. Dangerous contains sexually charged songs such as "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith". In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.
HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. In the new jack swing-funk rock tracks "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", and the R&B ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments his "fall from grace"; "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are operatic pop songs. In "D.S.", Jackson attacks lawyer Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who had prosecuted him in both child sexual abuse cases; he describes Sneddon as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Invincible includes urban soul tracks such as "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn", and "Butterflies" and mixes hip hop, pop, and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".
Music videos and choreography
Jackson released "Thriller", a 14-minute music video directed by John Landis, in 1983. The zombie-themed video "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on MTV, which had launched two years earlier. Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", which led to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, and helped other black music artists gain recognition. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped the relatively new channel's viewing figures, and MTV's focus shifted toward pop and R&B. His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage shows, making it acceptable for artists to lip-sync to music video on stage. The choreography in Thriller has been copied in Indian films and prisons in the Philippines. Thriller marked an increase in scale for music videos, and was named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.
In "Bad"'s 19-minute video—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson used sexual imagery and choreography, and touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Winfrey in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he said it was spontaneously compelled by the music. Time magazine described the "Bad" video as "infamous". It featured Wesley Snipes; Jackson's later videos often featured famous cameo roles. For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe to lock the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted for the device. The video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, but in 1989 was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards and won a Golden Lion Award for its special effects. It won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988; in 2001 the award was renamed in his honor. The "Black or White" video simultaneously premiered on November 14, 1991, in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500million people, the largest audience ever for a music video at the time. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped introduce morphing to music videos. It was controversial for scenes in which Jackson rubs his crotch, vandalizes cars, and throws a garbage can through a storefront. He apologized and removed the final scene of the video.
"In the Closet" featured Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. "Remember the Time" was set in ancient Egypt, and featured Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson. The video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, gained a record 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations, and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction". The song and its video are Jackson's response to being accused of child molestation in 1993. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. It has been reported as the most expensive music video ever made, at $7million; Romanek has contradicted this. The "Earth Song" video was nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Michael Jackson's Ghosts, a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston, premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by the video for the Pharrell Williams song "Happy". The 2001 video for "You Rock My World" lasts over 13 minutes, was directed by Paul Hunter, and features Chris Tucker and Marlon Brando. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video in 2002.
In December 2009, the Library of Congress selected "Thriller" as the only music video to be preserved in the National Film Registry, as a work of "enduring importance to American culture". Huey wrote that Jackson transformed the music video into an artform and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameos, while breaking down racial barriers.
Honors and awards
Jackson's estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide make him one of the best-selling music artist in history. He had 13 number-one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. He was invited and honored by a President of the United States at the White House three times. In 1984, he was honored with a "Presidential Public Safety Commendation" award by Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian endeavors. In 1990, he was honored as the "Artist of the Decade" by George H. W. Bush. In 1992, he was honored as a "Point of Light Ambassador" by Bush for inviting disadvantaged children to his Neverland Ranch.
He won hundreds of awards, more than any other popular music recording artist. His awards include 39 Guinness World Records, including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a record 26 American Music Awards, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s". He also received the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Jacksons, and in 1984 as a solo artist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and again as a solo artist in 2001. In 2002, he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was the first recording artist to be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was among the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
In 1988, Fisk University honored him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 1992, he was invested as a titular king of Sanwi, a traditional kingdom located in the south-east of Ivory Coast. In July 2009, the Lunar Republic Society named a crater on the Moon after Jackson. In August, for what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him. In 2014, the British Council of Cultural Relations deemed Jackson's life one of the 80 most important cultural moments of the 20th century. World Vitiligo Day has been celebrated on June 25, the anniversary of Jackson's death, to raise awareness of the auto-immune disorder that Jackson suffered from.
Earnings
In 1989, Jackson's annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts were estimated at $125million. Forbes placed Jackson's annual income at $35million in 1996 and $20million in 1997. Estimates of Jackson's net worth during his life range from negative $285million to positive $350million for 2002, 2003 and 2007. Forbes reported in August 2018 that Jackson's total career pretax earnings in life and death were $4.2billion. Sales of his recordings through Sony's music unit earned him an estimated $300million in royalties. He may have earned another $400million from concerts, music publishing (including his share of the Beatles catalog), endorsements, merchandising and music videos.
In 2013, the executors of Jackson's estate filed a petition in the United States Tax Court as a result of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over US federal estate taxes. The executors claim that it was worth about $7million, the IRS that it was worth over $1.1billion. In February 2014, the IRS reported that Jackson's estate owed $702million; $505million in taxes, and $197million in penalties. A trial was held from February 6 to 24, 2017. In 2021, the Tax Court issued a ruling in favor of the estate, ruling that the estate's total combined value of the estate was $111.5 million and that the value of Jackson's name and likeness was $4 million (not the $61 million estimated by the IRS's outside expert witness).
In 2016, Forbes estimated annual gross earnings by the Jackson Estate at $825million, the largest ever recorded for a celebrity, mostly due to the sale of the Sony/ATV catalog. In 2018, the figure was $400million. It was the eighth year since his death that Jackson's annual earnings were reported to be over $100million, thus bringing Jackson's postmortem total to $2.4billion. In 2020, Forbes recognized Jackson as the top-earning dead celebrity each year since his death except 2012.
Discography
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music & Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Filmography
The Wiz (1978)
Captain EO (1986)
Moonwalker (1988)
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
Men in Black II (2002)
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
Bad 25 (2012)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
Tours
Bad (1987–1989)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993)
HIStory World Tour (1996–1997)
MJ & Friends (1999)
Notes
References
Citations
Print sources
Further reading
External links
Michael Jackson at the FBI's website
1958 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American singers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American singers
Accidental deaths in California
African-American businesspeople
African-American choreographers
African-American male dancers
African-American male singers
African-American record producers
African-American rock singers
African-American songwriters
American beatboxers
American child singers
American choreographers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American disco singers
American expatriates in Ireland
American funk singers
American humanitarians
American male dancers
American male pop singers
American male singers
American male songwriters
American manslaughter victims
American multi-instrumentalists
American nonprofit businesspeople
American philanthropists
American pop rock singers
American rhythm and blues singers
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
American soul singers
American tenors
Boy sopranos
Brit Award winners
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Businesspeople from California
Businesspeople from Indiana
Child pop musicians
Culture of Gary, Indiana
Dance-pop musicians
Dancers from California
Dancers from Indiana
Drug-related deaths in California
Epic Records artists
Former Jehovah's Witnesses
Grammy Award winners
Grammy Legend Award winners
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
History of Gary, Indiana
Michael Jackson
Modern dancers
Motown artists
MTV Europe Music Award winners
Music video codirectors
Musicians from Gary, Indiana
New jack swing musicians
People acquitted of sex crimes
People from Santa Barbara County, California
People from Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
People with lupus
People with vitiligo
Post-disco musicians
Record producers from California
Record producers from Indiana
Singers from California
Singers from Indiana
Songwriters from California
Songwriters from Indiana
The Jackson 5 members
World Music Awards winners
World record holders
Writers from California
Writers from Gary, Indiana
| true |
[
"Trond Birkedal (born 22 March 1980) is a former Norwegian Progress Party politician who occupied a number of senior posts in his party, including as chairman of the Youth of the Progress Party and member of Progress Party's central executive committee and national board.\n\nLocally, he was elected as a member of the Stavanger city council and Rogaland county council. In addition, he ran for Mayor in the 2011 local elections. He resigned from politics following his indictment and subsequent conviction for child sexual abuse.\n\nConviction for child sexual abuse\nIn 2011, Birkedal was charged with having sex with a minor and sexual misconduct. He was also suspected of sexual offences against 13 boys. Subsequently, Birkedal resigned from all political offices, effectively ending his political career.\n\nIn February 2012, the city court acquitted him on the most serious charges involving sex with a minor, while he was convicted on lesser charges involving secret filming and inappropriate internet conduct, to which he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 60 days in prison, of which 40 days were suspended. The non-suspended part of the sentence had already been served in custody.\n\nThe verdict was appealed by the public prosecutor. On 17 October 2012, Birkedal was found guilty of sex with a minor and sentenced to 7 months in prison. He was fined to pay the victim 60,000 NOK in compensation by Gulating Court of Appeal. On 12 December 2012, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal of the conviction, and his conviction for sex with a minor is thus final. But, the court agreed to hear the sentencing. The Supreme Court rejected his appeal of the sentencing on 7 February 2013; both the conviction and the sentence are now final.\n\nReferences\n\nNorwegian people convicted of child sexual abuse\nNorwegian prisoners and detainees\nPrisoners and detainees of Norway\nProgress Party (Norway) politicians\nRogaland politicians\n1980 births\nLiving people\nViolence against men in Europe",
"Rune Øygard (born 27 April 1959) is a former Norwegian politician representing the Norwegian Labour Party, who served as mayor of Vågå from 1995 to 2012 when he was granted leave following his indictment for child sexual abuse in a much publicized case, the so-called Vågå case. On 17 December 2012, he was found guilty of child sexual abuse, including sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl, and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment. The same day, he resigned as mayor.\n\nEarly life and civil career\nØygard grew up in Skjåk, the neighbouring municipality of Vågå. He was co-owner of a book store in Vågå and subsequently editor-in-chief of the local radio station Ottadalsradioen before entering full-time politics in 1995 when he was elected mayor. Øygard has formerly been Secretary-General of the Norwegian youth organisation Norges Bygdeungdomslag (Norwegian Rural Youth).\n\nPolitical career\n\nHe was regarded as a successful mayor who was described by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as one of his political role models. According to the NRK, he has for several years been one of the Labour Party's most prominent mayors nationwide. In the 2007 Norwegian local elections, his party got 70% of the votes in Vågå. In 2009, the nationwide publication Kommunal Rapport named him \"Municipal Figure of the Year.\" Øygard has been described as a \"fairly high-ranking figure\" within the Labour Party. In September 2011, he was indicted by Norwegian police of child sexual abuse, and in May 2012, he requested temporary leave from his office as Mayor pending the outcome of his imminent trial. His much publicized trial started in October 2012, dominating news coverage of Norwegian media.\n\nØygard was asked to resign permanently by his own party, but refused to do so. After being found guilty and sentenced to four years imprisonment, Rune Øygard resigned as mayor. His resignation was granted by the municipal council on 18 December 2012, effective immediately.\n\nTrials (the Øygard case)\n\nHe came to broad national media attention when he was indicted by the police (siktet) of child sexual abuse in 2011. Despite being indicted of child sexual abuse, he was reelected as mayor by the municipal council following the 2011 Norwegian local elections. He only asked for temporary leave from his political office in May 2012, following his final indictment by the public prosecutor (tiltale) the previous month and repeated calls to leave office from the Secretary-General of his party (Raymond Johansen) since his first indictment the year before. His trial started in October 2012. He is accused of sexually abusing a girl who was under the age of 14 (and 37 years his junior), over several years, including more than 50 instances of sexual intercourse from the girl was 13 years old. Adding to the interest in the case, Øygard had met the girl together with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg several times (including in the Prime Minister's home), leading the girl's lawyer to ask for Stoltenberg to testify in the case; however, the public prosecutor in the case, Thorbjørn Klundseter, opted against this.\n\nIselin Jonassen is acting mayor of Vågå in Øygard's absence.\n\nOn 12 October 2012, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and the central leadership of the Norwegian Labour Party demanded that Øygard be removed from his position as mayor in light of the revelations. The following day, it became known that Øygard refuses to resign voluntarily.\n\nVerdict\nHe was found guilty of child sexual abuse and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment on 17 December 2012 by Sør-Gudbrandsdal District Court. (The maximum punishment stipulated by the laws that he broke, were 10 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 3 years.) Restitution to his victim was set at NOK 150,000 and he was ordered to pay NOK 25,000 in legal costs.\n\nAppellate court\nOn 29 April 2013 he testified in the trial in the appellate court. On 30 May 2013, he was sentenced to one year and three months in prison.\n\nSupreme Court\nThe Supreme Court of Norway made the final verdict in the case on 26 September 2013, after appeals by both Øygard and the prosecutor. The Supreme Court confirmed the appellate court's guilty verdict, and increased Øygard's sentence to two years and three months. Øygard reported to begin serving his sentence at Ullersmo Prison on 11 December 2013.\n\nReferences\n\n1959 births\nPeople from Skjåk\nRadio editors\nNorwegian editors\nLabour Party (Norway) politicians\nMayors of places in Norway\nNorwegian people convicted of child sexual abuse\nNorwegian prisoners and detainees\nPrisoners and detainees of Norway\nLiving people\nChild sexual abuse in Norway"
] |
[
"Michael Jackson",
"2002-2005: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal",
"what was he accused of in 2002-2005?",
"Prince was briefly extended over a railing,",
"What was the court verdict for the second child sexual abuse allegation?",
"Jackson was acquitted on all counts."
] |
C_56dffd56bfef46f9af2d69c5fc11f313_1
|
what were the accusations in that abuse case?
| 3 |
what were the accusations in Michael Jackson's second child sexual abuse case?
|
Michael Jackson
|
Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son Prince onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm with a cloth loosely draped over Prince's face. Prince was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Bashir's crew was with Jackson during this incident; the program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy. As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time. After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly, Jackson was arrested in November 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old boy shown in the film. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation, he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. Unknown to Jackson, Bahrain was also where the family had intended to send Jackson if he had been convicted, according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011. On November 17, 2003, three days before Jackson's arrest, Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units. CANNOTANSWER
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relation to the 13-year-old boy
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded individual music artist in history.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, while Bad was the first album to produce five U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend. The lawsuit was settled out of civil court; Jackson was not indicted due to lack of evidence. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf in either case. In 2009, while preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era) and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. His honors include 15 Grammy Awards, 6 Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award and 39 Guinness World Records, including the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time". Jackson's inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted) and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, his estate earned $825million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.
Life and career
Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, near Chicago, on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. Joe's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout; family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose", and physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to punish any mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael. Katherine said that although whipping came to be considered abuse, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which were harder on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble. Jackson said his youth was lonely and isolated.
Later in 1964, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to bolster her career in television—sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line". The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house on a two-acre estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In 1975, the Jackson 5 left Motown. They signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records, and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).
In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical directed by Sidney Lumet. It costarred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night". In 1978, Jackson broke his nose during a dance routine. A rhinoplasty led to breathing difficulties that later affected his career. He was referred to Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's operations.
Jackson's fifth solo album, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–1983)
Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio, and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use. The songs were released in 2014. Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory (1984). In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in late 1982. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983, and became the best-selling album of all time in the US and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated copies. It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to produce seven Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16 to an estimated audience of , and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars. Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first Emmy Award nomination. Wearing a glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his moonwalk dance, which Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier, and it became his signature dance in his repertoire. Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television. But at the request of Motown founder Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for an opportunity to do a solo performance. Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance. Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, Thriller won eight awards, and Jackson won an award for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. Winning eight Grammys in one ceremony is a record he holds with the band Santana. Jackson and Quincy Jones won the award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical). Thriller won Album of the Year (with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer), and the single won Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male). "Billie Jean" won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male), with Jackson as songwriter and singer respectively. Thriller won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical), acknowledging Bruce Swedien for his work on the album. At the 11th Annual American Music Awards, Jackson won another eight awards and became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit. He also won Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Artist. "Beat It" won Favorite Soul/R&B Video, Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Pop/Rock Single. The album collectively won Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, with about $2 for every album sold (), and was making record-breaking profits. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each. In the same year, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a music documentary, won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Longform). Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too." The New York Times wrote "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else."
On May 14, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award recognizing his support of alcohol and drug abuse charities, and in recognition of his support for the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson allowed the campaign to use "Beat It" for its public service announcements.
Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career (1984–1985)
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement (). The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean", with revised lyrics, as its jingle.
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by Phil Dusenberry, a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its now closed Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for $10million. The second campaign covered 20 countries and provided financial support for Jackson's Bad album and 1987–88 world tour. Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as LA Gear, Suzuki, and Sony, but none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi.
The Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons and showcased Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson donated his share of the proceeds, an estimated , to charity. During the last concert of the Victory Tour at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jackson announced his split from The Jacksons during "Shake Your Body". His charitable work continued with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa. It earned $63million (), and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20million copies sold. It won four Grammy Awards in 1985, including Song of the Year for Jackson and Richie as its writers. The project's creators received two special American Music Awards honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Jones, and promoter Ken Kragen received special awards for their roles in the song's creation.
Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s, and learned that McCartney was making $40million a year from owning the rights to other artists' songs. By 1983, Jackson had begun buying publishing rights to others' songs, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson's early acquisitions of music catalogs and song copyrights such as the Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968), Len Barry's "1–2–3" (1965), and Dion DiMucci's "The Wanderer" (1961) and "Runaround Sue" (1961).
In 1984, Robert Holmes à Court announced he was selling the ATV Music Publishing catalog comprising the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including most of the Beatles' material. In 1981, McCartney had been offered the catalog for £20million ($40million). Jackson submitted a bid of $46million on November 20, 1984. When Jackson and McCartney were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, and did not pursue an offer on his own. Jackson's agents were unable to come to a deal, and in May 1985 left talks after having spent more than $1million and four months of due diligence work on the negotiations. In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative offer to buy ATV Music for $50million; in early August, Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson's increased bid of $47.5million () was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence. Jackson agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.
Changing appearance, tabloids, and films (1986–1987)
Jackson's skin had been medium-brown during his youth, but from the mid-1980s gradually grew paler. The change drew widespread media coverage, including speculation that he had been bleaching his skin. Jackson's dermatologist, Arnold Klein, said he observed in 1983 that Jackson had vitiligo, a condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment, and sensitivity to sunlight. He also identified discoid lupus erythematosus in Jackson. He diagnosed Jackson with lupus that year, and with vitiligo in 1986. Vitiligo's drastic effects on the body can cause psychological distress. Jackson used fair-colored makeup, and possibly skin-bleaching prescription creams, to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. The creams would have further lightened his skin, and, with the application of makeup, he could appear very pale. Jackson said he had not purposely bleached his skin and could not control his vitiligo, adding, "When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me." He became friends with Klein and Klein's assistant, Debbie Rowe. Rowe later became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his first two children.
In his 1988 autobiography and a 1993 interview, Jackson said he had had two rhinoplasty surgeries and a cleft chin surgery but no more than that. He said he lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet to achieve a dancer's body. Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy, and speculated he was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Periods of weight loss became a recurring problem later in his life. After his death, Jackson's mother said that he first turned to cosmetic procedures to remedy his vitiligo, because he did not want to look like a "spotted cow". She said he had received more than the two cosmetic surgeries he claimed and speculated that he had become addicted to them.
In 1986, tabloids reported that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, and pictured him lying in a glass box. The claim was untrue, and tabloids reported that he spread the story himself. They also reported that Jackson took female hormone shots to keep his voice high and facial hair wispy, proposed to Elizabeth Taylor and possibly had a shrine of her, and had cosmetic surgery on his eyes. Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo denied all of them, except for Jackson having a chamber. DiLeo added "I don't know if he sleeps in it. I'm not for it. But Michael thinks it's something that's probably healthy for him. He's a bit of a health fanatic."
When Jackson took his pet chimpanzee Bubbles to tour in Japan, the media portrayed Jackson as an aspiring Disney cartoon character who befriended animals. It was also reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "Elephant Man"). In June 1987, the Chicago Tribune reported Jackson's publicist bidding $1million for the skeleton to the London Hospital Medical College on his behalf. The college maintained the skeleton was not for sale. DiLeo said Jackson had an "absorbing interest" in Merrick, "purely based on his awareness of the ethical, medical and historical significance."
These tabloid stories inspired the name "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise. According to music journalist Joseph Vogel, the demeaning name first appeared in British tabloid The Sun in 1985. The name's origins come from Jacko Macacco, the name of a famous monkey used in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in the early 1820s. "Jacko" was used in Cockney slang to refer to monkeys in general, hence a racist connotation behind the name.
In 1987, Rolling Stone described Jackson as "the flighty-genius star-child, a celebrity virtually all his life, who dwells in a fairy-tale kingdom of fellow celebrities, animals, mannequins and cartoons, who provides endless fodder for the tabloids.... But it’s the same child in Michael who inspires the artistry that fuels all the subsidiary industries, who turns his primal fears and fantasies into wondrous, hyperkinetic and emotional music."
Jackson worked with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute $30million 3D film Captain EO, which ran from 1986 at Disneyland and Epcot, and later at Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland. After having been removed in the late 1990s, it returned to the theme park for several years after Jackson's death. In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Katherine Jackson said this might have been because some Witnesses strongly opposed the Thriller video. Michael had denounced it in a Witness publication in 1984.
Bad, autobiography, and Neverland (1987–1990)
Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated, with the industry expecting another major success. It became the first album to produce five US number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Another song, "Smooth Criminal", peaked at number seven. Bad won the 1988 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone". Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards in 1989 after Bad generated five number-one singles, became the first album to top the charts in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and 1988. By 2012, it had sold between 30 and 45million copies worldwide.
The Bad world tour ran from September 12, 1987, to January 14, 1989. In Japan, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record for a single tour. The 504,000 people who attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium set a new Guinness World Record.
In 1988, Jackson released his autobiography, Moonwalk, with input from Stephen Davis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It sold 200,000 copies, and reached the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Jackson discussed his childhood, the Jackson 5, and the abuse from his father. He attributed his changing facial appearance to three plastic surgeries, puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hairstyle, and stage lighting. In October, Jackson released a film, Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films starring Jackson and Joe Pesci. In the US it was released direct-to-video and became the best-selling video cassette. The RIAA certified it as eight time Platinum.
In March 1988, Jackson purchased of land near Santa Ynez, California, to build a new home, Neverland Ranch, at a cost of $17million (). He installed a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a movie theater and a zoo. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. Shortly afterwards, he appeared in the first Western television advertisement in the Soviet Union.
Jackson became known as the "King of Pop", a nickname that Jackson's publicists embraced. When Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, she called him "the true king of pop, rock and soul." President George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade". From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $455,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. His rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration won Jackson a second Emmy nomination. Jackson was the bestselling artist of the 1980s.
Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII halftime show (1991–1993)
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65million (), a record-breaking deal, beating Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records. In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous, co-produced with Teddy Riley. It was certified eight times platinum in the US, and by 2018 had sold 32million copies worldwide. In the US, the first single, "Black or White", was the album's highest-charting song; it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and achieved similar chart performances worldwide. The second single, "Remember the Time" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992, Dangerous was the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" the best-selling single of the year worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. In 1993, he performed "Remember the Time" at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he twisted his ankle during dance rehearsals. In the UK, "Heal the World" made No. 2 on the charts in 1992.
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to use the theme park rides, and sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. That July, Jackson published his second book, Dancing the Dream, a collection of poetry. The Dangerous World Tour ran between June 1992 and November 1993 and grossed (); Jackson performed for 3.5million people in 70 concerts, all of which were outside the US. Part of the proceeds went to Heal the World Foundation. Jackson sold the broadcast rights of the tour to HBO for $20million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.
Following the death of HIV/AIDS spokesperson and friend Ryan White, Jackson pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research and performed "Gone Too Soon", a song dedicated to White, and "Heal the World" at the gala. Jackson visited Africa in early 1992; on his first stop in Gabon he was greeted by more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read "Welcome Home Michael", and was awarded an Officer of the National Order of Merit from President Omar Bongo. During his trip to Ivory Coast, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
In January 1993, Jackson performed at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in Pasadena, California. The NFL sought a big-name artist to keep ratings high during halftime following dwindling audience figures. It was the first Super Bowl whose half-time performance drew greater audience figures than the game. Jackson played "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Dangerous rose 90 places in the album chart after the performance.
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993. He spoke of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood, and said that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, and stated for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its release.
In January 1993, Jackson won three American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence. In February, he won the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He attended the award ceremony with Brooke Shields. Dangerous was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (for "Black or White"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Jam") and Best R&B Song ("Jam"), and Swedien and Riley won the award for Best Engineered – Non Classical.
First child sexual abuse accusations and first marriage (1993–1995)
In August 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler. Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. While Jordan's mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested him, her position wavered a few days later. Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money. Jackson's older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile; she later retracted this, saying she had been forced into it by her abusive husband. Police raided Jackson's home in August and found two legal large-format art books featuring young boys playing, running and swimming in various states of undress. Jackson denied knowing of the books' content and claimed if they were there someone had to send them to him and he did not open them. Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match. In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for a reported total sum of $23 million. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.
Jackson had been taking painkillers for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations. On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked close friend Elizabeth Taylor for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his relationship with Pepsi-Cola which sponsored the tour.
In late 1993, Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez. The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect Jackson's sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley's career as a singer. Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995. Presley cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the next month and only sought to reclaim her maiden name as her settlement. After the divorce, Judge Perez said, "They lasted longer than I thought they would. I gave them a year. They lasted a year and a half."
Jackson was set to compose music for the Sega Genesis video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), but left the project around the time the sexual abuse allegations surfaced and went uncredited. Jackson was a Sonic fan, and had collaborated with Sega for the 1990 arcade game Moonwalker. The reasons for Jackson's departure and whether his compositions remain in the released game have been the subject of debate. Sega Technical Institute director Roger Hector and Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Naoto Ohshima said that Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music reworked following the allegations. However, Jackson's musical director Brad Buxer and two other members of Jackson's team, Doug Grigsby III and Ciorocco Jones, said the music remained and that Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis replicated his music.
HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood (1995–1997)
In June 1995, Jackson released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, is a greatest hits album (reissued in 2001 as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I). The second disc, HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for eight million shipments in the US. It is the best-selling multi-disc album of all time, with 20million copies (40million units) sold worldwide. HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The New York Times reviewed it as "the testimony of a musician whose self-pity now equals his talent".
The first single from HIStory was "Scream/Childhood". "Scream", a duet with Jackson's youngest sister Janet, protests the media's treatment of Jackson during the 1993 child abuse allegations against him. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The second single, "You Are Not Alone", holds the Guinness world record for the first song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance" in 1995.
In 1995 the Anti-Defamation League and other groups complained that "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me", the original lyrics of "They Don't Care About Us", were antisemitic. Jackson released a version with revised words.
In late 1995, Jackson was admitted to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance, caused by a stress-related panic attack. In November, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He retained ownership of half the company, earning $95million up front () as well as the rights to more songs.
"Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995. It became the 87th-bestselling single in the UK. At the 1996 Brit Awards, Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" was disrupted by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, who was protesting what Cocker saw as Jackson's "Christ-like" persona. Jackson said the stage invasion was "disgusting and cowardly".
In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Jackson promoted HIStory with the HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996, to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed . During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology assistant, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8million settlement (). In 2004, after the second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at copies, making it the best-selling remix album of all time. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, the album reached number 24 and was certified platinum.
Label dispute and Invincible (1997–2002)
From October 1997 to September 2001, Jackson worked on his tenth solo album, Invincible, which cost to record. In June 1999, Jackson joined Luciano Pavarotti for a War Child benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show raised a million dollars for refugees of the Kosovo War, and additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Later that month, Jackson organized a series of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO. From August 1999 to 2000, he lived in New York City at 4 East 74th Street. At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s. In 2000, Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson performed with his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Monica, Liza Minnelli, and Slash. The first show was marred by technical lapses, and the crowd booed a speech by Marlon Brando. Almost 30million people watched the television broadcast of the shows in November. After the September 11 attacks, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001. Jackson performed "What More Can I Give" as the finale.
The release of Invincible was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits, but clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. Invincible was released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and the last album of original material he released in his lifetime. It debuted at number one in 13 countries and went on to sell eightmillion copies worldwide, receiving double-platinum certification in the US.
On January 9, 2002, Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century. Later that year, an anonymous surrogate mother gave birth to his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), who had been conceived by artificial insemination. On November 20, Jackson briefly held Blanket over the railing of his Berlin hotel room, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". On January 22, promoter Marcel Avram filed a breach of contract complaint against Jackson for failing to perform two planned 1999 concerts. In March, a Santa Maria jury ordered Jackson to pay Avram $5.3million. On December 18, 2003, Jackson's attorneys dropped all appeals on the verdict and settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
On April 24, 2002, Jackson performed at Apollo Theater. The concert was a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and former President Bill Clinton. The money collected would be used to encourage citizens to vote. It raised $2.5million. The concert was called Michael Jackson: Live at the Apollo and this would be Jackson's final on-stage performance.
In July 2002, Jackson called Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola "a racist, and very, very, very devilish," and someone who exploits black artists for his own gain, at Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem. The accusation prompted Sharpton to form a coalition investigating whether Mottola exploited black artists. Jackson charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger". Responding to those attacks, Sony issued a statement calling them "ludicrous, spiteful, and hurtful" and defended Mottola as someone who had championed Jackson's career for many years. Sony ultimately refused to renew Jackson's contract and claimed that a promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the US for Invincible.
Second child sexual abuse allegations, trial, and acquittal (2002–2005)
Beginning in May 2002, a documentary film crew led by Martin Bashir followed Jackson for several months. The documentary, broadcast in February 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson, showed Jackson holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a 12-year-old boy. He said that he saw nothing wrong with having sleepovers with minors and sharing his bed and bedroom with various people, which aroused controversy. He insisted that the sleepovers were not sexual and that his words had been misunderstood.
On November 18, 2003, Sony released Number Ones, a greatest hits compilation. It was certified five-times platinum by the RIAA, and nine times platinum in the UK, for shipments of at least 2.7million units.
On December 18, 2003, Santa Barbara authorities charged Jackson with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks. Jackson denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. Jackson found the experience stressful and it affected his health. If convicted, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he became reclusive and moved to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
In December 2009, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released files on Michael Jackson. These files revealed the Bureau's role in the 2005 trial and the 1993 allegations against Jackson, among other revelations. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf.
Final years and This Is It (2006–2009)
In April 2006, Jackson agreed to use a piece of his ATV catalog stake, then worth about $1billion, as collateral against his $270million worth of loans from Bank of America. Bank of America had sold the loans to Fortress Investments, an investment company that buys distressed loans, the year before. As part of the agreement, Fortress Investments provided Jackson a new loan of $300million with reduced interest payments (). Sony Music would have the option to buy half of his stake, or about 25% of the catalog, at a set price. Jackson's financial managers had urged him to shed part of his stake to avoid bankruptcy. The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure, while Jackson lived in Bahrain at the hospitality of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son. At least 30 of Jackson's employees had not been paid on time and were owed $306,000 in back wages; Jackson was ordered to pay $100,000 in penalties.
In early 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup, Two Seas Records; nothing came of the deal, and Two Seas CEO Guy Holmes later said it was never finalized. That October, Fox News reported that Jackson had been recording at a studio in County Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known what Jackson was working on, or who had paid for the sessions; his publicist stated that he had left Two Seas by then.
In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC reported that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am. On November 15, Jackson briefly performed "We Are the World" at the World Music Awards in London and accepted the Diamond Award honoring the sale of over records. The event was Jackson's last public performance in his lifetime. He returned to the U.S. in December 2006, settling in Las Vegas, and attended James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia later that month, where he gave a eulogy calling Brown his greatest inspiration.
In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought another music publishing company, Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. The deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem and Beck, among others. In a brief interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Jackson said he had no regrets about his lifelong career despite difficulties and "deliberate attempts to hurt [him]". That March, Jackson visited a US Army post in Japan, Camp Zama, to greet over 3,000 troops and their families.
In September 2007, Jackson was still working on his next album, which he never completed. For the 25th anniversary of Thriller in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25, with two remixes released as singles: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008". For Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest hits albums, King of Pop, with different tracklists for different regions.
In 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson had used as collateral for his loans. Fortress sold Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. The deal earned him . Jackson arranged to sell a collection of his memorabilia of more than 1,000 items through Julien's Auction House. On the eve of the first public exhibit, Jackson canceled the auction after earning between $200million to $300million of initial sales from a series of concerts to be held in London.
In March 2009, amid speculation about his finances and health, Jackson announced a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, at a press conference at The O2 Arena. The shows were to be his first major concerts since the HIStory World Tour in 1997. Jackson suggested he would retire after the shows. The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, predicted the first 10 dates would earn Jackson £50million. The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record-breaking ticket sales; over one million were sold in less than two hours. The concerts were to run from July 13, 2009, to March 6, 2010. Jackson moved to Los Angeles, where he rehearsed in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega, whom he had worked with during his previous tours. Most rehearsals took place at the Staples Center owned by AEG.
Death
On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first This Is It show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from cardiac arrest. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 pm Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later. Jackson was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after Jackson's arrival there, but were unsuccessful, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).
Jackson was administered propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; his death was caused by a propofol overdose. News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload, and putting unprecedented strain on services and websites including Google, AOL Instant Messenger, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Overall, web traffic rose by between 11% and 20%. MTV and BET aired marathons of Jackson's music videos, and Jackson specials aired on television stations around the world. MTV briefly returned to its original music video format, and aired hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.
Memorial service
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Over 1.6million fans applied for tickets to the memorial; the 8,750 recipients were drawn at random, and each received two tickets. The memorial service was one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of 31.1million and a worldwide audience of an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion.
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the memorial, and Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies. Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children: "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Katherine, speaking publicly for the first time, wept as she addressed the crowd. The Rev. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. Jackson's body was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Criminal investigation and prosecution of Conrad Murray
In August 2009, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide. Law enforcement officials charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter on February 8, 2010. In late 2011, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and held without bail to await sentencing. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison.
Posthumous sales
At the 2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, including two for his compilation album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26. In the year after his death, more than 16.1million of Jackson's albums sold in the US and 35million albums sold worldwide, more than any other artist in 2009. He became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, with 2.6million song downloads. Thriller, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson became the first catalog albums to outsell any new album. Jackson also became the first artist to have four of the top 20 best-selling albums in a single year in the US.
Following the surge in sales, in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250million deal () with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017; it had been due to expire in 2015. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history. They agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. The deal was extended in 2017. That July, a Los Angeles court awarded Jones $9.4million of disputed royalty payments for Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate's stake in EMI for $287.5million.
In 2014, Jackson became the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. The following year, Thriller became the first album to be certified for 30million shipments by the RIAA; a year later, it was certified 33× platinum, after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
Posthumous releases and productions
The first posthumous Jackson song, "This Is It", co-written in the 1980s with Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals. It was followed by a documentary film about the rehearsals for the canceled This Is It tour, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and a compilation album. Despite a limited two-week engagement, the film became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, with earnings of more than worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album, Michael, and the promotional single "Breaking News". Jackson collaborator Will.i.am expressed disgust, saying that Jackson would not have approved the release.
Video game developer Ubisoft released a music video game featuring Jackson for the 2010 holiday season, Michael Jackson: The Experience; it was among the first games to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the motion-detecting camera systems for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Xscape, an album of unreleased material, was released on May 13, 2014. Later that year, Queen released a duet recorded with Jackson and Freddie Mercury in the 1980s. A compilation album, Scream, was released on September 29, 2017.
In October 2011, the theater company Cirque du Soleil launched Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, a $57-million production, in Montreal, with a permanent show resident in Las Vegas. A larger and more theatrical Cirque show, Michael Jackson: One, designed for residency at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opened on May 23, 2013, in a renovated theater. A jukebox musical, MJ the Musical, premiered on Broadway in 2022.
In April 2011, Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of Fulham Football Club, unveiled a statue of Jackson outside the club stadium, Craven Cottage. It was moved to the National Football Museum in Manchester in May 2014, and removed from display in March 2019 following renewed sexual assault allegations.
In 2012, in an attempt to end a family dispute, Jackson's brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing executors of Jackson's estate and his mother's advisors over the legitimacy of his brother's will. T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael Jackson's children after false reports of Katherine Jackson going missing. A duet between Jackson and Justin Timberlake titled "Love Never Felt So Good" was released in 2014, making Jackson the first artist to have a top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when the single reached number 9. In November 2019, it was reported that a Jackson biopic, produced by Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) producer Graham King, was in the works, with the screenplay written by John Logan. Jackson's estate granted King the rights to his music and will work with King.
Posthumous child sexual abuse allegations
In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old (1989–1996). In 2014, a case was filed by James Safechuck, alleging sexual abuse over a four-year period from the age of ten (1988–1992). Both had testified in Jackson's defense during the 1993 allegations; Robson did so again in 2005. In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed on the grounds of being filed too late. Safechuck's claim was also time-barred. In 2017, it was ruled that Jackson's corporations could not be held accountable for his alleged past actions. The rulings were appealed, and on October 20, 2020, Safechuck's lawsuit against Jackson's corporations was again dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that there was no evidence that Safechuck had a relationship with Jackson's companies. On April 26, 2021, Robson's case was dismissed because of a lack of supporting evidence that the defendants exercised control over Jackson.
Robson and Safechuck described allegations in graphic detail in the documentary Leaving Neverland, released in March 2019. Radio stations in New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands removed Jackson's music from their playlists. Jackson's family condemned the film as a "public lynching", and the Jackson estate released a statement calling the film a "tabloid character assassination [Jackson] endured in life, and now in death". Close associates of Jackson, such as Corey Feldman, Aaron Carter, Brett Barnes, and Macaulay Culkin, said that Jackson had not molested them. Rebuttal documentaries, such as Square One: Michael Jackson, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary and Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, presented information countering the claims. Jackson's album sales increased following the documentary. Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said she and a colleague interviewed about thirty music executives who believed Jackson's legacy could withstand the controversy. In late 2019, some New Zealand and Canadian radio stations re-added Jackson's music to their playlists, citing "positive listener survey results".
On February 21, 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The suit sought to compel HBO to participate in a non-confidential arbitration that could result in $100million or more in damages rewarded to the estate. HBO said they did not breach a contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. In September 2019, Judge George H. Wu denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to arbitrate. HBO appealed, but in December 2020 the appeal court affirmed Judge Wu's ruling.
Legacy
Jackson has been referred to as the "King of Pop" for having transformed the art of music videos and paving the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation. His influence extended beyond the music industry; he impacted dance, led fashion trends, and raised awareness for global affairs. Jackson's music and videos fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. In songs such as "Man in the Mirror", "Black or White", Heal the World, "Earth Song" and "They Don't Care About Us", Jackson's music emphasized racial integration and environmentalism and protested injustice. He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, and his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Danyel Smith, chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of Vibe, described Jackson as "the Greatest Star". Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". BET said Jackson was "quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" whose "sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artists of all genres".
In 1984, Time pop critic Jay Cocks wrote that "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." He described Jackson as a "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too." In 2003, The Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius". At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy called Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived". In a June 28, 2009 Baltimore Sun article, Jill Rosen wrote that Jackson's legacy influenced fields including sound, dance, fashion, music videos and celebrity.
Pop critic Robert Christgau wrote that Jackson's work from the 1970s to the early 1990s showed "immense originality, adaptability, and ambition" with "genius beats, hooks, arrangements, and vocals (though not lyrics)", music that "will stand forever as a reproach to the puritanical notion that pop music is slick or shallow and that's the end of it". During the 1990s, as Jackson lost control of his "troubling life", his music suffered and began to shape "an arc not merely of promise fulfilled and outlived, but of something approaching tragedy: a phenomenally ebullient child star tops himself like none before, only to transmute audibly into a lost weirdo". In the 2000s, Christgau wrote: "Jackson's obsession with fame, his grotesque life magnified by his grotesque wealth, are such an offense to rock aesthetes that the fact that he's a great musician is now often forgotten".
Artistry
Influences
Jackson was influenced by musicians including James Brown, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, and David Ruffin. Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson, but Brown was his greatest inspiration; he later said that as a small child, his mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson described being "mesmerized".
Jackson's vocal technique was influenced by Diana Ross; his use of the oooh interjection from a young age was something Ross had used on many of her songs with the Supremes. She was a mother figure to him, and he often watched her rehearse. He said he had learned a lot from watching how she moved and sang, and that she had encouraged him to have confidence in himself.
Choreographer David Winters, who met Jackson while choreographing the 1971 Diana Ross TV special Diana!, said that Jackson watched the musical West Side Story almost every week, and it was his favorite film; he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.
Vocal style
Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed. Between 1971 and 1975, his voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. He was known for his vocal range. With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder, and wrote that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly." By the time of 1982's Thriller, Rolling Stone wrote that Jackson was singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".
The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. Of Invincible, Rolling Stone wrote that, at 43, Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Joseph Vogel notes Jackson's ability to use non-verbal sounds to express emotion. Neil McCormick wrote that Jackson's unorthodox singing style "was original and utterly distinctive".
Musicianship
Jackson had no formal music training and could not read or write music notation. He is credited for playing guitar, keyboard, and drums, but was not proficient in them. When composing, he recorded ideas by beatboxing and imitating instruments vocally. Describing the process, he said: "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder. I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick and that's what inspires the melody." Engineer Robert Hoffman recalled that after Jackson came in with a song he had written overnight, Jackson sang every note of every chord to a guitar player. Hoffman also remembered Jackson singing string arrangements part by part into a cassette recorder.
Dance
Jackson danced from a young age as part of the Jackson 5, and incorporated dance extensively in his performances and music videos. According to Sanjoy Roy of The Guardian, Jackson would "flick and retract his limbs like switchblades, or snap out of a tornado spin into a perfectly poised toe-stand". The moonwalk, taught to him by Jeffrey Daniel, was Jackson's signature dance move and one of the most famous of the 20th century. Jackson is credited for coining the name "moonwalk"; the move was previously known as the "backslide". His other moves included the robot, crotch grab, and the "anti-gravity" lean of the "Smooth Criminal" video.
Themes and genres
Jackson explored genres including pop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, post-disco, dance-pop and new jack swing. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful. Its tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature", and "The Girl Is Mine", the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".
With Off the Wall, Jackson's "vocabulary of grunts, squeals, hiccups, moans, and asides" vividly showed his maturation into an adult, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). The album's title track suggested to the critic a parallel between Jackson and Stevie Wonder's "oddball" music personas: "Since childhood his main contact with the real world has been on stage and in bed." With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson depicts an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered her child, and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in a homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He observed that "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover is seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, and "Man in the Mirror" is a ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" is an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a paradoxical person. The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". It was the first Jackson album in which social ills became a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. Dangerous contains sexually charged songs such as "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith". In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.
HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. In the new jack swing-funk rock tracks "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", and the R&B ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments his "fall from grace"; "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are operatic pop songs. In "D.S.", Jackson attacks lawyer Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who had prosecuted him in both child sexual abuse cases; he describes Sneddon as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Invincible includes urban soul tracks such as "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn", and "Butterflies" and mixes hip hop, pop, and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".
Music videos and choreography
Jackson released "Thriller", a 14-minute music video directed by John Landis, in 1983. The zombie-themed video "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on MTV, which had launched two years earlier. Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", which led to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, and helped other black music artists gain recognition. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped the relatively new channel's viewing figures, and MTV's focus shifted toward pop and R&B. His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage shows, making it acceptable for artists to lip-sync to music video on stage. The choreography in Thriller has been copied in Indian films and prisons in the Philippines. Thriller marked an increase in scale for music videos, and was named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.
In "Bad"'s 19-minute video—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson used sexual imagery and choreography, and touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Winfrey in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he said it was spontaneously compelled by the music. Time magazine described the "Bad" video as "infamous". It featured Wesley Snipes; Jackson's later videos often featured famous cameo roles. For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe to lock the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted for the device. The video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, but in 1989 was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards and won a Golden Lion Award for its special effects. It won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988; in 2001 the award was renamed in his honor. The "Black or White" video simultaneously premiered on November 14, 1991, in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500million people, the largest audience ever for a music video at the time. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped introduce morphing to music videos. It was controversial for scenes in which Jackson rubs his crotch, vandalizes cars, and throws a garbage can through a storefront. He apologized and removed the final scene of the video.
"In the Closet" featured Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. "Remember the Time" was set in ancient Egypt, and featured Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson. The video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, gained a record 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations, and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction". The song and its video are Jackson's response to being accused of child molestation in 1993. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. It has been reported as the most expensive music video ever made, at $7million; Romanek has contradicted this. The "Earth Song" video was nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Michael Jackson's Ghosts, a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston, premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by the video for the Pharrell Williams song "Happy". The 2001 video for "You Rock My World" lasts over 13 minutes, was directed by Paul Hunter, and features Chris Tucker and Marlon Brando. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video in 2002.
In December 2009, the Library of Congress selected "Thriller" as the only music video to be preserved in the National Film Registry, as a work of "enduring importance to American culture". Huey wrote that Jackson transformed the music video into an artform and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameos, while breaking down racial barriers.
Honors and awards
Jackson's estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide make him one of the best-selling music artist in history. He had 13 number-one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. He was invited and honored by a President of the United States at the White House three times. In 1984, he was honored with a "Presidential Public Safety Commendation" award by Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian endeavors. In 1990, he was honored as the "Artist of the Decade" by George H. W. Bush. In 1992, he was honored as a "Point of Light Ambassador" by Bush for inviting disadvantaged children to his Neverland Ranch.
He won hundreds of awards, more than any other popular music recording artist. His awards include 39 Guinness World Records, including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a record 26 American Music Awards, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s". He also received the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Jacksons, and in 1984 as a solo artist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and again as a solo artist in 2001. In 2002, he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was the first recording artist to be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was among the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
In 1988, Fisk University honored him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 1992, he was invested as a titular king of Sanwi, a traditional kingdom located in the south-east of Ivory Coast. In July 2009, the Lunar Republic Society named a crater on the Moon after Jackson. In August, for what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him. In 2014, the British Council of Cultural Relations deemed Jackson's life one of the 80 most important cultural moments of the 20th century. World Vitiligo Day has been celebrated on June 25, the anniversary of Jackson's death, to raise awareness of the auto-immune disorder that Jackson suffered from.
Earnings
In 1989, Jackson's annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts were estimated at $125million. Forbes placed Jackson's annual income at $35million in 1996 and $20million in 1997. Estimates of Jackson's net worth during his life range from negative $285million to positive $350million for 2002, 2003 and 2007. Forbes reported in August 2018 that Jackson's total career pretax earnings in life and death were $4.2billion. Sales of his recordings through Sony's music unit earned him an estimated $300million in royalties. He may have earned another $400million from concerts, music publishing (including his share of the Beatles catalog), endorsements, merchandising and music videos.
In 2013, the executors of Jackson's estate filed a petition in the United States Tax Court as a result of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over US federal estate taxes. The executors claim that it was worth about $7million, the IRS that it was worth over $1.1billion. In February 2014, the IRS reported that Jackson's estate owed $702million; $505million in taxes, and $197million in penalties. A trial was held from February 6 to 24, 2017. In 2021, the Tax Court issued a ruling in favor of the estate, ruling that the estate's total combined value of the estate was $111.5 million and that the value of Jackson's name and likeness was $4 million (not the $61 million estimated by the IRS's outside expert witness).
In 2016, Forbes estimated annual gross earnings by the Jackson Estate at $825million, the largest ever recorded for a celebrity, mostly due to the sale of the Sony/ATV catalog. In 2018, the figure was $400million. It was the eighth year since his death that Jackson's annual earnings were reported to be over $100million, thus bringing Jackson's postmortem total to $2.4billion. In 2020, Forbes recognized Jackson as the top-earning dead celebrity each year since his death except 2012.
Discography
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music & Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Filmography
The Wiz (1978)
Captain EO (1986)
Moonwalker (1988)
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
Men in Black II (2002)
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
Bad 25 (2012)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
Tours
Bad (1987–1989)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993)
HIStory World Tour (1996–1997)
MJ & Friends (1999)
Notes
References
Citations
Print sources
Further reading
External links
Michael Jackson at the FBI's website
1958 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American singers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American singers
Accidental deaths in California
African-American businesspeople
African-American choreographers
African-American male dancers
African-American male singers
African-American record producers
African-American rock singers
African-American songwriters
American beatboxers
American child singers
American choreographers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American disco singers
American expatriates in Ireland
American funk singers
American humanitarians
American male dancers
American male pop singers
American male singers
American male songwriters
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[
"Dean Tong is an American author, public speaker, consultant, and trial expert in the field of false child abuse allegations. He has consulted for the media on high-profile cases such as that of Elian Gonzalez, JonBenét Ramsey, and Michael Jackson. He is the author of three books inspired by his personal experience with being falsely accused of child abuse in 1985. In addition to testifying as an expert witness, he has appeared on numerous radio talk shows and television speaking on the topic of false abuse accusations. He has also been quoted by numerous publications on the topic including by the Chicago Defender, The Virginian-Pilot, The Boston Globe, and The Denver Post.\n\nEarly life and education\n\nTong graduated from Hull High School and later obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Pre-Medicine from Northeastern University in 1979. He went on to study at the University of Portsmouth and Leeds in the United Kingdom where he obtained a Master's degree in Psychology and the Law in Child Forensic Studies in 2006.\n\nHis Master Thesis at the University of Portsmouth entitled \"Penile Plethysmograph, Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest, and MSI-II: Are They Speaking the Same Language\" was later published in the May/June 2007 issue of The American Journal of Family Therapy. He originally worked as a laboratory medical technologist prior to becoming an author and consultant.\n\nFalse allegations of abuse\n\nIn 1985, Tong was accused by his then wife of sexually abusing his 3-year-old daughter. He was in a custody battle with his estranged wife at the time. While at work, Tong received a call from his attorney advising him of the allegations. He was subsequently arrested and charged with capital sexual battery and under court order not to see his children. Tong spent two weeks in jail and the charges were dropped against him 14 months later for lack of evidence. After the criminal proceedings, Tong faced ten years of legal battles including two lawsuits and spending in excess of $100,000 to clear his name.\n\nProfessional career\n\nTong runs a consultancy in Florida by the name of Abuse Excuse. He has been retained by attorneys and parents in all 50 states and has appeared on more than 2000 radio talk shows talking about false allegations of abuse. His consultancy is concentrated in the fields of divorce, child custody, abuse accusations, sexual or physical child abuse, domestic violence, parental alienation, and sexual allegations in divorce. He has given expert testimony in 10 states in cognitive child development psychology and is contracted to perform critique of investigations conducted by Child Protective Services and law enforcement agencies related to accusations of abuse as well as forensic interviews of children allegedly abused. He has also been appointed by courts as an expert witness for criminal indigent defendants. Tong has also been hired by protective mothers who lose child custody because they are perceived to be coaching their children to make false abuse allegations against fathers.\n\nTong was part of the legal team for Darren Mack during his divorce. Mack was later charged with the murder of his estranged wife as well as the sniper shooting of the judge who handled the divorce proceedings. After the shooting, he spoke with Mack by telephone and informed him to turn himself into authorities. He also authored an op-ed piece in the Las Vegas Review Journal condemning Mack's actions. Tong appeared in the 2007 CBS 48 Hours Mystery Special documenting the events surrounding Darren Mack and the murder of his wife as well as commentary about the case on Rita Cosby: Live & Direct Tong has made numerous other appearances on national television talk shows, including on Dr. Phil, CNN's Nancy Grace, and The Montel Williams Show.\n\nTong was a media consultant to WFTV Channel 9 during the trial of Casey Anthony and a media consultant for cases such as the Elián González affair, Murder of JonBenét Ramsey, and the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson from 2003 to 2005. He was also a media consultant to ABC News during the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case in 2003. Tong has also been involved with the Florida Legislature in relation to the passage of laws to protect children. One such bill, nicknamed the Child Spanking Bill, he assisted Senator Jim Hargrett with the wording for the bill in relation to signs that are consistent with physical child abuse. Tong also played a role with the passage of the Malicious False Abuse Law and the repeal of the Florida Child Abuse Registry. \n\nTong is a public speaker and has performed engagements including keynote speaker at FathersDay2000, a rally held in Washington DC to spread awareness of fathers who are not allowed to participate in raising their children. He has also spoke as part of the Children's Rights Council national conference.\n\nTong is the author of three books and numerous publications on the topic of false abuse allegations. In 1992, Tong published his first book, Don't Blame ME, Daddy: False Accusations of Child Sexual Abuse. It was written after his legal battles to prove his innocence of accusations against him. The book detailed the increase of false accusations of child sexual abuse in relation to divorce and child custody cases. He followed up with the book Ashes to Ashes, Families to Dust in 1996. The book provided information for those falsely accused of abuse. In 2002, Tong published his third book, Elusive Innocence: Survival Guide for the Falsely Accused. The book, which targeted attorneys, detailed the difference between actual abuse and false accusations of abuse as well as domestic violence allegations. It included chapters on fighting false accusations and a summary of case studies involving false accusations. Tong also penned the foreword to the 2009 book I'm Going to be a Dad, Now What? written by Craig Baird.\n\nBibliography\n\n 2002, Elusive Innocence: Survival Guide for the Falsely Accused\n 1996, Ashes to Ashes, Families to Dust: False Accusations of Child Abuse: A Roadmap for Survivors\n 1992, Don't Blame ME, Daddy: False Accusations of Child Sexual Abuse\n\nSelect publications\n\n 2012, Sesame Street and Sex Abuse Clash, Ground Report\n 2007, The Penile Plethysmograph, Abel Assessment for Sexual Interest and MSI-II: Are They Speaking the Same Language?, The American Journal of Family Therapy \n 2003, Will Bryant's fame cost his chance for fair trial?, Post-Tribune\n To Err Is Human, Especially in Child Abuse Cases, About.com\n\nPersonal\n\nTong has served as the president of VOCAL (Victims of Child Abuse Laws) in the Tampa Bay area.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Abuse Excuse - Dean Tong Consultancy Website\n\nLiving people\nAmerican male writers\nNortheastern University alumni\nAlumni of the University of Portsmouth\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nWriters from Tampa, Florida\nPlace of birth missing (living people)",
"The Thurston County ritual abuse case was a 1988 case in which Paul Ingram, county Republican Party Chairman of Thurston County, Washington and the Chief Civil Deputy of the Sheriff's department, was accused by his daughters of sexual abuse, by at least one daughter of satanic ritual abuse and later accused by his son in 1996 of abusing him between the ages of 4 to 12. \n \nIngram pled guilty and his confession grew increasingly elaborate and detailed, while Ingram's young daughters and their friends subsequently accused a sizable number of Ingram's fellow Sheriff's department employees of abuse. He now maintains he is innocent and alleges his confession was coerced. He tried to withdraw his plea and requested a trial or clemency, but his requests were refused. According to the appeals court, the original trial had conducted \"an extensive evidentiary hearing on the coercion issue\" and found that Ingram was unable to prove his claims of coercion, a situation his appeals did not change. Ingram was released in 2003 after serving his sentence.\n\nThe case is often cited by proponents of the idea that satanic ritual abuse actually exists as proof because Ingram was found guilty; in reality, Ingram was never charged with \"satanic ritual abuse\" but with six counts of rape in the third degree, and received an unusually long sentence – rather than a maximum of three and a half years, he was sentenced to twenty years. The \"satanic\" aspects of the case were dropped by the prosecution although the appearance of Satan was integral to Ingram's confessions. The case has also been compared to the Salem witch trials.\n\nBackground\nThe accusations appeared at a time when there were tremendous questions being raised about the accuracy of memories of childhood abuse and incest. Books such as the self-help tome The Courage to Heal, the discredited satanic ritual abuse autobiography Michelle Remembers, and work by memory researchers such as Elizabeth Loftus all worked to support, contradict and challenge conventional beliefs about how memory and repression worked, or if the latter even existed.\n\nIngram's daughters had both been in therapy, one before the initial outcry, the other while the trial was ongoing. The Ingrams were also members of a local Pentecostal church that promoted the idea that Satan could control the minds of Christians, cause them to commit crimes, then remove the memories after the fact, and that God would not allow harmful false memories. While at a church retreat, a woman who claimed to possess prophetic power told Ingram's daughter that she had been sexually abused by her father.\n\nAccusations\nIngram was accused of sexually abusing both of his daughters over a period of years. Initially Ericka, his eldest daughter, claimed this abuse had stopped in 1979 but later his other daughter Julie said it had happened less than five years before. When first interviewed in 1988 by Sheriff Gary Edwards and Undersheriff Neil McClanahan about the sex abuse accusations, Ingram \"basically confessed during the first five minutes\" as McLanahan would later state.\n\nAs the case proceeded, the accusations increased in scope and detail. Ingram was also accused of participating in hundreds of satanic rituals including the slaughter of 25 babies. Ericka claimed she had caught a sexually transmitted disease from him, and had a baby aborted when near term.\n\nFalse memory hypothesis\nPsychologist Richard Ofshe claimed that Ingram, because of his long-standing and routine experiences in his church, was inadvertently hypnotized by authority figures who conducted his interrogation, although no mental health professionals were present, and that the confessions were the result of false memories being implanted with suggestion. Ofshe tested this hypothesis by telling Ingram that a son and daughter had accused him of forcing them to commit incest with each other. Interrogating officers had previously accused Ingram of this, but he denied it, and also denied Ofshe's accusation. Ofshe instructed Ingram to pray on the idea, and later Ingram produced a full, detailed written confession. Questioning the daughter who was supposed to have been involved, despite many other accusations against her father, she denied that such an incident had ever occurred. Upon being told that no such accusation had been made by either his son or daughter, Ingram refused to believe the incident wasn't real, maintaining \"[i]t's just as real to me as anything else\". Ofshe was thus convinced that Ingram's confessions were solely the result of extensive interrogation sessions and questions being applied to an unusually suggestible individual. He provided a report on his theory, but the prosecution initially refused to supply it to the defense, only doing so after being forced by the judge. Ofshe later reported the incident in a scientific journal.\n\nRemembering Satan\nIngram's story became the basis of the book Remembering Satan by Lawrence Wright. The Ingram case was also the basis for the TV-movie Forgotten Sins, in which John Shea played \"Sheriff Matthew Bradshaw\". Richard Ofshe, the only individual whose name was not changed for the movie, confirms that it is based on the Ingram case. Lawrence Wright, the author of Remembering Satan, received a \"Story by\" WGA credit for the movie.\n\nPAUL: The Secret Story Of Olympia's Satanic Sheriff\nIngram's story was the subject of filmmaker Nik Nerburn's 33-minute long 2013 film PAUL: The Secret Story of Olympia's Satanic Sheriff. The film was selected as the audience pick of the 2012 Olympia Film Festival and received the Award for Best Use of Archival Footage at the 2013 Seattle True Independent Film Festival.\n\nReferences\n\nSources\n\nExternal links\n Ingram Organization with details of case\n Audio of Paul Ingram Pardon Hearing\n \n \"The Devil In Mr. Ingram\", article in Mother Jones\n\nHistory of Thurston County, Washington\n\nSatanic ritual abuse hysteria in the United States"
] |
[
"Michael Jackson",
"2002-2005: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal",
"what was he accused of in 2002-2005?",
"Prince was briefly extended over a railing,",
"What was the court verdict for the second child sexual abuse allegation?",
"Jackson was acquitted on all counts.",
"what were the accusations in that abuse case?",
"relation to the 13-year-old boy"
] |
C_56dffd56bfef46f9af2d69c5fc11f313_1
|
who was the judge in this case?
| 4 |
who was the judge in Michael Jackson's second child sexual abuse case?
|
Michael Jackson
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Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son Prince onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm with a cloth loosely draped over Prince's face. Prince was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Bashir's crew was with Jackson during this incident; the program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy. As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time. After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly, Jackson was arrested in November 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old boy shown in the film. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation, he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. Unknown to Jackson, Bahrain was also where the family had intended to send Jackson if he had been convicted, according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011. On November 17, 2003, three days before Jackson's arrest, Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded individual music artist in history.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, while Bad was the first album to produce five U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend. The lawsuit was settled out of civil court; Jackson was not indicted due to lack of evidence. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf in either case. In 2009, while preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era) and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. His honors include 15 Grammy Awards, 6 Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award and 39 Guinness World Records, including the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time". Jackson's inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted) and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, his estate earned $825million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.
Life and career
Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, near Chicago, on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. Joe's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout; family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose", and physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to punish any mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael. Katherine said that although whipping came to be considered abuse, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which were harder on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble. Jackson said his youth was lonely and isolated.
Later in 1964, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to bolster her career in television—sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line". The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house on a two-acre estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In 1975, the Jackson 5 left Motown. They signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records, and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).
In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical directed by Sidney Lumet. It costarred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night". In 1978, Jackson broke his nose during a dance routine. A rhinoplasty led to breathing difficulties that later affected his career. He was referred to Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's operations.
Jackson's fifth solo album, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–1983)
Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio, and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use. The songs were released in 2014. Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory (1984). In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in late 1982. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983, and became the best-selling album of all time in the US and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated copies. It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to produce seven Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16 to an estimated audience of , and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars. Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first Emmy Award nomination. Wearing a glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his moonwalk dance, which Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier, and it became his signature dance in his repertoire. Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television. But at the request of Motown founder Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for an opportunity to do a solo performance. Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance. Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, Thriller won eight awards, and Jackson won an award for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. Winning eight Grammys in one ceremony is a record he holds with the band Santana. Jackson and Quincy Jones won the award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical). Thriller won Album of the Year (with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer), and the single won Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male). "Billie Jean" won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male), with Jackson as songwriter and singer respectively. Thriller won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical), acknowledging Bruce Swedien for his work on the album. At the 11th Annual American Music Awards, Jackson won another eight awards and became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit. He also won Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Artist. "Beat It" won Favorite Soul/R&B Video, Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Pop/Rock Single. The album collectively won Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, with about $2 for every album sold (), and was making record-breaking profits. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each. In the same year, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a music documentary, won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Longform). Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too." The New York Times wrote "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else."
On May 14, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award recognizing his support of alcohol and drug abuse charities, and in recognition of his support for the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson allowed the campaign to use "Beat It" for its public service announcements.
Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career (1984–1985)
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement (). The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean", with revised lyrics, as its jingle.
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by Phil Dusenberry, a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its now closed Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for $10million. The second campaign covered 20 countries and provided financial support for Jackson's Bad album and 1987–88 world tour. Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as LA Gear, Suzuki, and Sony, but none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi.
The Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons and showcased Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson donated his share of the proceeds, an estimated , to charity. During the last concert of the Victory Tour at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jackson announced his split from The Jacksons during "Shake Your Body". His charitable work continued with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa. It earned $63million (), and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20million copies sold. It won four Grammy Awards in 1985, including Song of the Year for Jackson and Richie as its writers. The project's creators received two special American Music Awards honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Jones, and promoter Ken Kragen received special awards for their roles in the song's creation.
Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s, and learned that McCartney was making $40million a year from owning the rights to other artists' songs. By 1983, Jackson had begun buying publishing rights to others' songs, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson's early acquisitions of music catalogs and song copyrights such as the Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968), Len Barry's "1–2–3" (1965), and Dion DiMucci's "The Wanderer" (1961) and "Runaround Sue" (1961).
In 1984, Robert Holmes à Court announced he was selling the ATV Music Publishing catalog comprising the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including most of the Beatles' material. In 1981, McCartney had been offered the catalog for £20million ($40million). Jackson submitted a bid of $46million on November 20, 1984. When Jackson and McCartney were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, and did not pursue an offer on his own. Jackson's agents were unable to come to a deal, and in May 1985 left talks after having spent more than $1million and four months of due diligence work on the negotiations. In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative offer to buy ATV Music for $50million; in early August, Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson's increased bid of $47.5million () was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence. Jackson agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.
Changing appearance, tabloids, and films (1986–1987)
Jackson's skin had been medium-brown during his youth, but from the mid-1980s gradually grew paler. The change drew widespread media coverage, including speculation that he had been bleaching his skin. Jackson's dermatologist, Arnold Klein, said he observed in 1983 that Jackson had vitiligo, a condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment, and sensitivity to sunlight. He also identified discoid lupus erythematosus in Jackson. He diagnosed Jackson with lupus that year, and with vitiligo in 1986. Vitiligo's drastic effects on the body can cause psychological distress. Jackson used fair-colored makeup, and possibly skin-bleaching prescription creams, to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. The creams would have further lightened his skin, and, with the application of makeup, he could appear very pale. Jackson said he had not purposely bleached his skin and could not control his vitiligo, adding, "When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me." He became friends with Klein and Klein's assistant, Debbie Rowe. Rowe later became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his first two children.
In his 1988 autobiography and a 1993 interview, Jackson said he had had two rhinoplasty surgeries and a cleft chin surgery but no more than that. He said he lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet to achieve a dancer's body. Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy, and speculated he was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Periods of weight loss became a recurring problem later in his life. After his death, Jackson's mother said that he first turned to cosmetic procedures to remedy his vitiligo, because he did not want to look like a "spotted cow". She said he had received more than the two cosmetic surgeries he claimed and speculated that he had become addicted to them.
In 1986, tabloids reported that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, and pictured him lying in a glass box. The claim was untrue, and tabloids reported that he spread the story himself. They also reported that Jackson took female hormone shots to keep his voice high and facial hair wispy, proposed to Elizabeth Taylor and possibly had a shrine of her, and had cosmetic surgery on his eyes. Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo denied all of them, except for Jackson having a chamber. DiLeo added "I don't know if he sleeps in it. I'm not for it. But Michael thinks it's something that's probably healthy for him. He's a bit of a health fanatic."
When Jackson took his pet chimpanzee Bubbles to tour in Japan, the media portrayed Jackson as an aspiring Disney cartoon character who befriended animals. It was also reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "Elephant Man"). In June 1987, the Chicago Tribune reported Jackson's publicist bidding $1million for the skeleton to the London Hospital Medical College on his behalf. The college maintained the skeleton was not for sale. DiLeo said Jackson had an "absorbing interest" in Merrick, "purely based on his awareness of the ethical, medical and historical significance."
These tabloid stories inspired the name "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise. According to music journalist Joseph Vogel, the demeaning name first appeared in British tabloid The Sun in 1985. The name's origins come from Jacko Macacco, the name of a famous monkey used in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in the early 1820s. "Jacko" was used in Cockney slang to refer to monkeys in general, hence a racist connotation behind the name.
In 1987, Rolling Stone described Jackson as "the flighty-genius star-child, a celebrity virtually all his life, who dwells in a fairy-tale kingdom of fellow celebrities, animals, mannequins and cartoons, who provides endless fodder for the tabloids.... But it’s the same child in Michael who inspires the artistry that fuels all the subsidiary industries, who turns his primal fears and fantasies into wondrous, hyperkinetic and emotional music."
Jackson worked with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute $30million 3D film Captain EO, which ran from 1986 at Disneyland and Epcot, and later at Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland. After having been removed in the late 1990s, it returned to the theme park for several years after Jackson's death. In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Katherine Jackson said this might have been because some Witnesses strongly opposed the Thriller video. Michael had denounced it in a Witness publication in 1984.
Bad, autobiography, and Neverland (1987–1990)
Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated, with the industry expecting another major success. It became the first album to produce five US number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Another song, "Smooth Criminal", peaked at number seven. Bad won the 1988 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone". Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards in 1989 after Bad generated five number-one singles, became the first album to top the charts in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and 1988. By 2012, it had sold between 30 and 45million copies worldwide.
The Bad world tour ran from September 12, 1987, to January 14, 1989. In Japan, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record for a single tour. The 504,000 people who attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium set a new Guinness World Record.
In 1988, Jackson released his autobiography, Moonwalk, with input from Stephen Davis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It sold 200,000 copies, and reached the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Jackson discussed his childhood, the Jackson 5, and the abuse from his father. He attributed his changing facial appearance to three plastic surgeries, puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hairstyle, and stage lighting. In October, Jackson released a film, Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films starring Jackson and Joe Pesci. In the US it was released direct-to-video and became the best-selling video cassette. The RIAA certified it as eight time Platinum.
In March 1988, Jackson purchased of land near Santa Ynez, California, to build a new home, Neverland Ranch, at a cost of $17million (). He installed a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a movie theater and a zoo. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. Shortly afterwards, he appeared in the first Western television advertisement in the Soviet Union.
Jackson became known as the "King of Pop", a nickname that Jackson's publicists embraced. When Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, she called him "the true king of pop, rock and soul." President George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade". From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $455,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. His rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration won Jackson a second Emmy nomination. Jackson was the bestselling artist of the 1980s.
Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII halftime show (1991–1993)
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65million (), a record-breaking deal, beating Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records. In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous, co-produced with Teddy Riley. It was certified eight times platinum in the US, and by 2018 had sold 32million copies worldwide. In the US, the first single, "Black or White", was the album's highest-charting song; it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and achieved similar chart performances worldwide. The second single, "Remember the Time" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992, Dangerous was the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" the best-selling single of the year worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. In 1993, he performed "Remember the Time" at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he twisted his ankle during dance rehearsals. In the UK, "Heal the World" made No. 2 on the charts in 1992.
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to use the theme park rides, and sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. That July, Jackson published his second book, Dancing the Dream, a collection of poetry. The Dangerous World Tour ran between June 1992 and November 1993 and grossed (); Jackson performed for 3.5million people in 70 concerts, all of which were outside the US. Part of the proceeds went to Heal the World Foundation. Jackson sold the broadcast rights of the tour to HBO for $20million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.
Following the death of HIV/AIDS spokesperson and friend Ryan White, Jackson pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research and performed "Gone Too Soon", a song dedicated to White, and "Heal the World" at the gala. Jackson visited Africa in early 1992; on his first stop in Gabon he was greeted by more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read "Welcome Home Michael", and was awarded an Officer of the National Order of Merit from President Omar Bongo. During his trip to Ivory Coast, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
In January 1993, Jackson performed at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in Pasadena, California. The NFL sought a big-name artist to keep ratings high during halftime following dwindling audience figures. It was the first Super Bowl whose half-time performance drew greater audience figures than the game. Jackson played "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Dangerous rose 90 places in the album chart after the performance.
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993. He spoke of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood, and said that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, and stated for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its release.
In January 1993, Jackson won three American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence. In February, he won the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He attended the award ceremony with Brooke Shields. Dangerous was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (for "Black or White"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Jam") and Best R&B Song ("Jam"), and Swedien and Riley won the award for Best Engineered – Non Classical.
First child sexual abuse accusations and first marriage (1993–1995)
In August 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler. Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. While Jordan's mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested him, her position wavered a few days later. Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money. Jackson's older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile; she later retracted this, saying she had been forced into it by her abusive husband. Police raided Jackson's home in August and found two legal large-format art books featuring young boys playing, running and swimming in various states of undress. Jackson denied knowing of the books' content and claimed if they were there someone had to send them to him and he did not open them. Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match. In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for a reported total sum of $23 million. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.
Jackson had been taking painkillers for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations. On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked close friend Elizabeth Taylor for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his relationship with Pepsi-Cola which sponsored the tour.
In late 1993, Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez. The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect Jackson's sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley's career as a singer. Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995. Presley cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the next month and only sought to reclaim her maiden name as her settlement. After the divorce, Judge Perez said, "They lasted longer than I thought they would. I gave them a year. They lasted a year and a half."
Jackson was set to compose music for the Sega Genesis video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), but left the project around the time the sexual abuse allegations surfaced and went uncredited. Jackson was a Sonic fan, and had collaborated with Sega for the 1990 arcade game Moonwalker. The reasons for Jackson's departure and whether his compositions remain in the released game have been the subject of debate. Sega Technical Institute director Roger Hector and Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Naoto Ohshima said that Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music reworked following the allegations. However, Jackson's musical director Brad Buxer and two other members of Jackson's team, Doug Grigsby III and Ciorocco Jones, said the music remained and that Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis replicated his music.
HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood (1995–1997)
In June 1995, Jackson released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, is a greatest hits album (reissued in 2001 as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I). The second disc, HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for eight million shipments in the US. It is the best-selling multi-disc album of all time, with 20million copies (40million units) sold worldwide. HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The New York Times reviewed it as "the testimony of a musician whose self-pity now equals his talent".
The first single from HIStory was "Scream/Childhood". "Scream", a duet with Jackson's youngest sister Janet, protests the media's treatment of Jackson during the 1993 child abuse allegations against him. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The second single, "You Are Not Alone", holds the Guinness world record for the first song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance" in 1995.
In 1995 the Anti-Defamation League and other groups complained that "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me", the original lyrics of "They Don't Care About Us", were antisemitic. Jackson released a version with revised words.
In late 1995, Jackson was admitted to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance, caused by a stress-related panic attack. In November, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He retained ownership of half the company, earning $95million up front () as well as the rights to more songs.
"Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995. It became the 87th-bestselling single in the UK. At the 1996 Brit Awards, Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" was disrupted by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, who was protesting what Cocker saw as Jackson's "Christ-like" persona. Jackson said the stage invasion was "disgusting and cowardly".
In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Jackson promoted HIStory with the HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996, to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed . During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology assistant, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8million settlement (). In 2004, after the second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at copies, making it the best-selling remix album of all time. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, the album reached number 24 and was certified platinum.
Label dispute and Invincible (1997–2002)
From October 1997 to September 2001, Jackson worked on his tenth solo album, Invincible, which cost to record. In June 1999, Jackson joined Luciano Pavarotti for a War Child benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show raised a million dollars for refugees of the Kosovo War, and additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Later that month, Jackson organized a series of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO. From August 1999 to 2000, he lived in New York City at 4 East 74th Street. At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s. In 2000, Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson performed with his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Monica, Liza Minnelli, and Slash. The first show was marred by technical lapses, and the crowd booed a speech by Marlon Brando. Almost 30million people watched the television broadcast of the shows in November. After the September 11 attacks, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001. Jackson performed "What More Can I Give" as the finale.
The release of Invincible was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits, but clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. Invincible was released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and the last album of original material he released in his lifetime. It debuted at number one in 13 countries and went on to sell eightmillion copies worldwide, receiving double-platinum certification in the US.
On January 9, 2002, Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century. Later that year, an anonymous surrogate mother gave birth to his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), who had been conceived by artificial insemination. On November 20, Jackson briefly held Blanket over the railing of his Berlin hotel room, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". On January 22, promoter Marcel Avram filed a breach of contract complaint against Jackson for failing to perform two planned 1999 concerts. In March, a Santa Maria jury ordered Jackson to pay Avram $5.3million. On December 18, 2003, Jackson's attorneys dropped all appeals on the verdict and settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
On April 24, 2002, Jackson performed at Apollo Theater. The concert was a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and former President Bill Clinton. The money collected would be used to encourage citizens to vote. It raised $2.5million. The concert was called Michael Jackson: Live at the Apollo and this would be Jackson's final on-stage performance.
In July 2002, Jackson called Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola "a racist, and very, very, very devilish," and someone who exploits black artists for his own gain, at Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem. The accusation prompted Sharpton to form a coalition investigating whether Mottola exploited black artists. Jackson charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger". Responding to those attacks, Sony issued a statement calling them "ludicrous, spiteful, and hurtful" and defended Mottola as someone who had championed Jackson's career for many years. Sony ultimately refused to renew Jackson's contract and claimed that a promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the US for Invincible.
Second child sexual abuse allegations, trial, and acquittal (2002–2005)
Beginning in May 2002, a documentary film crew led by Martin Bashir followed Jackson for several months. The documentary, broadcast in February 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson, showed Jackson holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a 12-year-old boy. He said that he saw nothing wrong with having sleepovers with minors and sharing his bed and bedroom with various people, which aroused controversy. He insisted that the sleepovers were not sexual and that his words had been misunderstood.
On November 18, 2003, Sony released Number Ones, a greatest hits compilation. It was certified five-times platinum by the RIAA, and nine times platinum in the UK, for shipments of at least 2.7million units.
On December 18, 2003, Santa Barbara authorities charged Jackson with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks. Jackson denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. Jackson found the experience stressful and it affected his health. If convicted, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he became reclusive and moved to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
In December 2009, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released files on Michael Jackson. These files revealed the Bureau's role in the 2005 trial and the 1993 allegations against Jackson, among other revelations. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf.
Final years and This Is It (2006–2009)
In April 2006, Jackson agreed to use a piece of his ATV catalog stake, then worth about $1billion, as collateral against his $270million worth of loans from Bank of America. Bank of America had sold the loans to Fortress Investments, an investment company that buys distressed loans, the year before. As part of the agreement, Fortress Investments provided Jackson a new loan of $300million with reduced interest payments (). Sony Music would have the option to buy half of his stake, or about 25% of the catalog, at a set price. Jackson's financial managers had urged him to shed part of his stake to avoid bankruptcy. The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure, while Jackson lived in Bahrain at the hospitality of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son. At least 30 of Jackson's employees had not been paid on time and were owed $306,000 in back wages; Jackson was ordered to pay $100,000 in penalties.
In early 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup, Two Seas Records; nothing came of the deal, and Two Seas CEO Guy Holmes later said it was never finalized. That October, Fox News reported that Jackson had been recording at a studio in County Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known what Jackson was working on, or who had paid for the sessions; his publicist stated that he had left Two Seas by then.
In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC reported that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am. On November 15, Jackson briefly performed "We Are the World" at the World Music Awards in London and accepted the Diamond Award honoring the sale of over records. The event was Jackson's last public performance in his lifetime. He returned to the U.S. in December 2006, settling in Las Vegas, and attended James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia later that month, where he gave a eulogy calling Brown his greatest inspiration.
In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought another music publishing company, Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. The deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem and Beck, among others. In a brief interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Jackson said he had no regrets about his lifelong career despite difficulties and "deliberate attempts to hurt [him]". That March, Jackson visited a US Army post in Japan, Camp Zama, to greet over 3,000 troops and their families.
In September 2007, Jackson was still working on his next album, which he never completed. For the 25th anniversary of Thriller in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25, with two remixes released as singles: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008". For Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest hits albums, King of Pop, with different tracklists for different regions.
In 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson had used as collateral for his loans. Fortress sold Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. The deal earned him . Jackson arranged to sell a collection of his memorabilia of more than 1,000 items through Julien's Auction House. On the eve of the first public exhibit, Jackson canceled the auction after earning between $200million to $300million of initial sales from a series of concerts to be held in London.
In March 2009, amid speculation about his finances and health, Jackson announced a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, at a press conference at The O2 Arena. The shows were to be his first major concerts since the HIStory World Tour in 1997. Jackson suggested he would retire after the shows. The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, predicted the first 10 dates would earn Jackson £50million. The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record-breaking ticket sales; over one million were sold in less than two hours. The concerts were to run from July 13, 2009, to March 6, 2010. Jackson moved to Los Angeles, where he rehearsed in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega, whom he had worked with during his previous tours. Most rehearsals took place at the Staples Center owned by AEG.
Death
On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first This Is It show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from cardiac arrest. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 pm Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later. Jackson was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after Jackson's arrival there, but were unsuccessful, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).
Jackson was administered propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; his death was caused by a propofol overdose. News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload, and putting unprecedented strain on services and websites including Google, AOL Instant Messenger, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Overall, web traffic rose by between 11% and 20%. MTV and BET aired marathons of Jackson's music videos, and Jackson specials aired on television stations around the world. MTV briefly returned to its original music video format, and aired hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.
Memorial service
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Over 1.6million fans applied for tickets to the memorial; the 8,750 recipients were drawn at random, and each received two tickets. The memorial service was one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of 31.1million and a worldwide audience of an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion.
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the memorial, and Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies. Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children: "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Katherine, speaking publicly for the first time, wept as she addressed the crowd. The Rev. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. Jackson's body was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Criminal investigation and prosecution of Conrad Murray
In August 2009, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide. Law enforcement officials charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter on February 8, 2010. In late 2011, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and held without bail to await sentencing. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison.
Posthumous sales
At the 2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, including two for his compilation album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26. In the year after his death, more than 16.1million of Jackson's albums sold in the US and 35million albums sold worldwide, more than any other artist in 2009. He became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, with 2.6million song downloads. Thriller, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson became the first catalog albums to outsell any new album. Jackson also became the first artist to have four of the top 20 best-selling albums in a single year in the US.
Following the surge in sales, in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250million deal () with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017; it had been due to expire in 2015. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history. They agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. The deal was extended in 2017. That July, a Los Angeles court awarded Jones $9.4million of disputed royalty payments for Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate's stake in EMI for $287.5million.
In 2014, Jackson became the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. The following year, Thriller became the first album to be certified for 30million shipments by the RIAA; a year later, it was certified 33× platinum, after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
Posthumous releases and productions
The first posthumous Jackson song, "This Is It", co-written in the 1980s with Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals. It was followed by a documentary film about the rehearsals for the canceled This Is It tour, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and a compilation album. Despite a limited two-week engagement, the film became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, with earnings of more than worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album, Michael, and the promotional single "Breaking News". Jackson collaborator Will.i.am expressed disgust, saying that Jackson would not have approved the release.
Video game developer Ubisoft released a music video game featuring Jackson for the 2010 holiday season, Michael Jackson: The Experience; it was among the first games to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the motion-detecting camera systems for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Xscape, an album of unreleased material, was released on May 13, 2014. Later that year, Queen released a duet recorded with Jackson and Freddie Mercury in the 1980s. A compilation album, Scream, was released on September 29, 2017.
In October 2011, the theater company Cirque du Soleil launched Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, a $57-million production, in Montreal, with a permanent show resident in Las Vegas. A larger and more theatrical Cirque show, Michael Jackson: One, designed for residency at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opened on May 23, 2013, in a renovated theater. A jukebox musical, MJ the Musical, premiered on Broadway in 2022.
In April 2011, Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of Fulham Football Club, unveiled a statue of Jackson outside the club stadium, Craven Cottage. It was moved to the National Football Museum in Manchester in May 2014, and removed from display in March 2019 following renewed sexual assault allegations.
In 2012, in an attempt to end a family dispute, Jackson's brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing executors of Jackson's estate and his mother's advisors over the legitimacy of his brother's will. T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael Jackson's children after false reports of Katherine Jackson going missing. A duet between Jackson and Justin Timberlake titled "Love Never Felt So Good" was released in 2014, making Jackson the first artist to have a top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when the single reached number 9. In November 2019, it was reported that a Jackson biopic, produced by Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) producer Graham King, was in the works, with the screenplay written by John Logan. Jackson's estate granted King the rights to his music and will work with King.
Posthumous child sexual abuse allegations
In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old (1989–1996). In 2014, a case was filed by James Safechuck, alleging sexual abuse over a four-year period from the age of ten (1988–1992). Both had testified in Jackson's defense during the 1993 allegations; Robson did so again in 2005. In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed on the grounds of being filed too late. Safechuck's claim was also time-barred. In 2017, it was ruled that Jackson's corporations could not be held accountable for his alleged past actions. The rulings were appealed, and on October 20, 2020, Safechuck's lawsuit against Jackson's corporations was again dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that there was no evidence that Safechuck had a relationship with Jackson's companies. On April 26, 2021, Robson's case was dismissed because of a lack of supporting evidence that the defendants exercised control over Jackson.
Robson and Safechuck described allegations in graphic detail in the documentary Leaving Neverland, released in March 2019. Radio stations in New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands removed Jackson's music from their playlists. Jackson's family condemned the film as a "public lynching", and the Jackson estate released a statement calling the film a "tabloid character assassination [Jackson] endured in life, and now in death". Close associates of Jackson, such as Corey Feldman, Aaron Carter, Brett Barnes, and Macaulay Culkin, said that Jackson had not molested them. Rebuttal documentaries, such as Square One: Michael Jackson, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary and Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, presented information countering the claims. Jackson's album sales increased following the documentary. Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said she and a colleague interviewed about thirty music executives who believed Jackson's legacy could withstand the controversy. In late 2019, some New Zealand and Canadian radio stations re-added Jackson's music to their playlists, citing "positive listener survey results".
On February 21, 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The suit sought to compel HBO to participate in a non-confidential arbitration that could result in $100million or more in damages rewarded to the estate. HBO said they did not breach a contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. In September 2019, Judge George H. Wu denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to arbitrate. HBO appealed, but in December 2020 the appeal court affirmed Judge Wu's ruling.
Legacy
Jackson has been referred to as the "King of Pop" for having transformed the art of music videos and paving the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation. His influence extended beyond the music industry; he impacted dance, led fashion trends, and raised awareness for global affairs. Jackson's music and videos fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. In songs such as "Man in the Mirror", "Black or White", Heal the World, "Earth Song" and "They Don't Care About Us", Jackson's music emphasized racial integration and environmentalism and protested injustice. He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, and his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Danyel Smith, chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of Vibe, described Jackson as "the Greatest Star". Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". BET said Jackson was "quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" whose "sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artists of all genres".
In 1984, Time pop critic Jay Cocks wrote that "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." He described Jackson as a "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too." In 2003, The Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius". At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy called Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived". In a June 28, 2009 Baltimore Sun article, Jill Rosen wrote that Jackson's legacy influenced fields including sound, dance, fashion, music videos and celebrity.
Pop critic Robert Christgau wrote that Jackson's work from the 1970s to the early 1990s showed "immense originality, adaptability, and ambition" with "genius beats, hooks, arrangements, and vocals (though not lyrics)", music that "will stand forever as a reproach to the puritanical notion that pop music is slick or shallow and that's the end of it". During the 1990s, as Jackson lost control of his "troubling life", his music suffered and began to shape "an arc not merely of promise fulfilled and outlived, but of something approaching tragedy: a phenomenally ebullient child star tops himself like none before, only to transmute audibly into a lost weirdo". In the 2000s, Christgau wrote: "Jackson's obsession with fame, his grotesque life magnified by his grotesque wealth, are such an offense to rock aesthetes that the fact that he's a great musician is now often forgotten".
Artistry
Influences
Jackson was influenced by musicians including James Brown, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, and David Ruffin. Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson, but Brown was his greatest inspiration; he later said that as a small child, his mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson described being "mesmerized".
Jackson's vocal technique was influenced by Diana Ross; his use of the oooh interjection from a young age was something Ross had used on many of her songs with the Supremes. She was a mother figure to him, and he often watched her rehearse. He said he had learned a lot from watching how she moved and sang, and that she had encouraged him to have confidence in himself.
Choreographer David Winters, who met Jackson while choreographing the 1971 Diana Ross TV special Diana!, said that Jackson watched the musical West Side Story almost every week, and it was his favorite film; he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.
Vocal style
Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed. Between 1971 and 1975, his voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. He was known for his vocal range. With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder, and wrote that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly." By the time of 1982's Thriller, Rolling Stone wrote that Jackson was singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".
The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. Of Invincible, Rolling Stone wrote that, at 43, Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Joseph Vogel notes Jackson's ability to use non-verbal sounds to express emotion. Neil McCormick wrote that Jackson's unorthodox singing style "was original and utterly distinctive".
Musicianship
Jackson had no formal music training and could not read or write music notation. He is credited for playing guitar, keyboard, and drums, but was not proficient in them. When composing, he recorded ideas by beatboxing and imitating instruments vocally. Describing the process, he said: "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder. I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick and that's what inspires the melody." Engineer Robert Hoffman recalled that after Jackson came in with a song he had written overnight, Jackson sang every note of every chord to a guitar player. Hoffman also remembered Jackson singing string arrangements part by part into a cassette recorder.
Dance
Jackson danced from a young age as part of the Jackson 5, and incorporated dance extensively in his performances and music videos. According to Sanjoy Roy of The Guardian, Jackson would "flick and retract his limbs like switchblades, or snap out of a tornado spin into a perfectly poised toe-stand". The moonwalk, taught to him by Jeffrey Daniel, was Jackson's signature dance move and one of the most famous of the 20th century. Jackson is credited for coining the name "moonwalk"; the move was previously known as the "backslide". His other moves included the robot, crotch grab, and the "anti-gravity" lean of the "Smooth Criminal" video.
Themes and genres
Jackson explored genres including pop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, post-disco, dance-pop and new jack swing. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful. Its tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature", and "The Girl Is Mine", the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".
With Off the Wall, Jackson's "vocabulary of grunts, squeals, hiccups, moans, and asides" vividly showed his maturation into an adult, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). The album's title track suggested to the critic a parallel between Jackson and Stevie Wonder's "oddball" music personas: "Since childhood his main contact with the real world has been on stage and in bed." With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson depicts an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered her child, and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in a homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He observed that "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover is seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, and "Man in the Mirror" is a ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" is an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a paradoxical person. The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". It was the first Jackson album in which social ills became a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. Dangerous contains sexually charged songs such as "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith". In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.
HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. In the new jack swing-funk rock tracks "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", and the R&B ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments his "fall from grace"; "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are operatic pop songs. In "D.S.", Jackson attacks lawyer Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who had prosecuted him in both child sexual abuse cases; he describes Sneddon as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Invincible includes urban soul tracks such as "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn", and "Butterflies" and mixes hip hop, pop, and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".
Music videos and choreography
Jackson released "Thriller", a 14-minute music video directed by John Landis, in 1983. The zombie-themed video "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on MTV, which had launched two years earlier. Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", which led to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, and helped other black music artists gain recognition. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped the relatively new channel's viewing figures, and MTV's focus shifted toward pop and R&B. His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage shows, making it acceptable for artists to lip-sync to music video on stage. The choreography in Thriller has been copied in Indian films and prisons in the Philippines. Thriller marked an increase in scale for music videos, and was named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.
In "Bad"'s 19-minute video—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson used sexual imagery and choreography, and touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Winfrey in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he said it was spontaneously compelled by the music. Time magazine described the "Bad" video as "infamous". It featured Wesley Snipes; Jackson's later videos often featured famous cameo roles. For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe to lock the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted for the device. The video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, but in 1989 was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards and won a Golden Lion Award for its special effects. It won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988; in 2001 the award was renamed in his honor. The "Black or White" video simultaneously premiered on November 14, 1991, in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500million people, the largest audience ever for a music video at the time. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped introduce morphing to music videos. It was controversial for scenes in which Jackson rubs his crotch, vandalizes cars, and throws a garbage can through a storefront. He apologized and removed the final scene of the video.
"In the Closet" featured Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. "Remember the Time" was set in ancient Egypt, and featured Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson. The video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, gained a record 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations, and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction". The song and its video are Jackson's response to being accused of child molestation in 1993. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. It has been reported as the most expensive music video ever made, at $7million; Romanek has contradicted this. The "Earth Song" video was nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Michael Jackson's Ghosts, a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston, premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by the video for the Pharrell Williams song "Happy". The 2001 video for "You Rock My World" lasts over 13 minutes, was directed by Paul Hunter, and features Chris Tucker and Marlon Brando. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video in 2002.
In December 2009, the Library of Congress selected "Thriller" as the only music video to be preserved in the National Film Registry, as a work of "enduring importance to American culture". Huey wrote that Jackson transformed the music video into an artform and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameos, while breaking down racial barriers.
Honors and awards
Jackson's estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide make him one of the best-selling music artist in history. He had 13 number-one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. He was invited and honored by a President of the United States at the White House three times. In 1984, he was honored with a "Presidential Public Safety Commendation" award by Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian endeavors. In 1990, he was honored as the "Artist of the Decade" by George H. W. Bush. In 1992, he was honored as a "Point of Light Ambassador" by Bush for inviting disadvantaged children to his Neverland Ranch.
He won hundreds of awards, more than any other popular music recording artist. His awards include 39 Guinness World Records, including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a record 26 American Music Awards, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s". He also received the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Jacksons, and in 1984 as a solo artist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and again as a solo artist in 2001. In 2002, he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was the first recording artist to be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was among the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
In 1988, Fisk University honored him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 1992, he was invested as a titular king of Sanwi, a traditional kingdom located in the south-east of Ivory Coast. In July 2009, the Lunar Republic Society named a crater on the Moon after Jackson. In August, for what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him. In 2014, the British Council of Cultural Relations deemed Jackson's life one of the 80 most important cultural moments of the 20th century. World Vitiligo Day has been celebrated on June 25, the anniversary of Jackson's death, to raise awareness of the auto-immune disorder that Jackson suffered from.
Earnings
In 1989, Jackson's annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts were estimated at $125million. Forbes placed Jackson's annual income at $35million in 1996 and $20million in 1997. Estimates of Jackson's net worth during his life range from negative $285million to positive $350million for 2002, 2003 and 2007. Forbes reported in August 2018 that Jackson's total career pretax earnings in life and death were $4.2billion. Sales of his recordings through Sony's music unit earned him an estimated $300million in royalties. He may have earned another $400million from concerts, music publishing (including his share of the Beatles catalog), endorsements, merchandising and music videos.
In 2013, the executors of Jackson's estate filed a petition in the United States Tax Court as a result of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over US federal estate taxes. The executors claim that it was worth about $7million, the IRS that it was worth over $1.1billion. In February 2014, the IRS reported that Jackson's estate owed $702million; $505million in taxes, and $197million in penalties. A trial was held from February 6 to 24, 2017. In 2021, the Tax Court issued a ruling in favor of the estate, ruling that the estate's total combined value of the estate was $111.5 million and that the value of Jackson's name and likeness was $4 million (not the $61 million estimated by the IRS's outside expert witness).
In 2016, Forbes estimated annual gross earnings by the Jackson Estate at $825million, the largest ever recorded for a celebrity, mostly due to the sale of the Sony/ATV catalog. In 2018, the figure was $400million. It was the eighth year since his death that Jackson's annual earnings were reported to be over $100million, thus bringing Jackson's postmortem total to $2.4billion. In 2020, Forbes recognized Jackson as the top-earning dead celebrity each year since his death except 2012.
Discography
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music & Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Filmography
The Wiz (1978)
Captain EO (1986)
Moonwalker (1988)
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
Men in Black II (2002)
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
Bad 25 (2012)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
Tours
Bad (1987–1989)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993)
HIStory World Tour (1996–1997)
MJ & Friends (1999)
Notes
References
Citations
Print sources
Further reading
External links
Michael Jackson at the FBI's website
1958 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American singers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American singers
Accidental deaths in California
African-American businesspeople
African-American choreographers
African-American male dancers
African-American male singers
African-American record producers
African-American rock singers
African-American songwriters
American beatboxers
American child singers
American choreographers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American disco singers
American expatriates in Ireland
American funk singers
American humanitarians
American male dancers
American male pop singers
American male singers
American male songwriters
American manslaughter victims
American multi-instrumentalists
American nonprofit businesspeople
American philanthropists
American pop rock singers
American rhythm and blues singers
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
American soul singers
American tenors
Boy sopranos
Brit Award winners
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Businesspeople from California
Businesspeople from Indiana
Child pop musicians
Culture of Gary, Indiana
Dance-pop musicians
Dancers from California
Dancers from Indiana
Drug-related deaths in California
Epic Records artists
Former Jehovah's Witnesses
Grammy Award winners
Grammy Legend Award winners
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
History of Gary, Indiana
Michael Jackson
Modern dancers
Motown artists
MTV Europe Music Award winners
Music video codirectors
Musicians from Gary, Indiana
New jack swing musicians
People acquitted of sex crimes
People from Santa Barbara County, California
People from Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
People with lupus
People with vitiligo
Post-disco musicians
Record producers from California
Record producers from Indiana
Singers from California
Singers from Indiana
Songwriters from California
Songwriters from Indiana
The Jackson 5 members
World Music Awards winners
World record holders
Writers from California
Writers from Gary, Indiana
| false |
[
"Michael Hanna is an Irish judge who has been a Judge of the High Court since 2004.\n\nEarly life \nHanna originates from Belfast and was educated at St MacNissi's College. His father was Frank Hanna, a Northern Ireland Labour Party MP. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin and the King's Inns. He is a former auditor of the College Historical Society.\n\nHe became a barrister in 1976 and a senior counsel in 1996. Hanna's practice was focused on the Dublin and South-Eastern circuits, where he specialised in personal injury cases and the law of tort. Criminal cases also formed part of his practice.\n\nJudicial career \nHanna was appointed to the High Court in 2004. He was appointed following recommendation by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board. He presided over a planning law case involving Van Morrison and his wife Michelle Rocca in 2010. He was the judge in a 2011 case taken by Ryanair against a German ticket sale website, in which he held that ticket scraping was a breach of Ryanair's website terms. This was considered to be the first Irish case involving the enforceability of online terms of service. He often acted as judge at the Court of Criminal Appeal, prior to its disbandment following the establishment of the Court of Appeal.\n\nHe frequently hears personal injuries cases in the High Court. He applied a test of \"ordinary common sense\" to assess evidence in a personal injuries case involving a woman who had slipped in a car park. This test was endorsed in a judgment of Mary Irvine in the Court of Appeal.\n\nPersonal life \nHe became ill while in Spain in 2014 and was in an induced coma. He was unable to hear cases for a period of time following. Hanna is a singer of opera.\n\nReferences \n\nLiving people\nHigh Court judges (Ireland)\nAlumni of Trinity College Dublin\nAlumni of King's Inns\nLawyers from Belfast\nYear of birth missing (living people)",
"Aruna Suresh (born 19 February 1950) is a former judge of the Orissa High Court in India. She also served at the Delhi High Court. She gained public attention after an association of lawyers boycotted her courtroom in Odisha, following her request to a senior counsel to refrain from intervening in a case where he was not involved.\n\nCareer \nSuresh qualified into the Delhi Judicial Service in 1973, and initially served in the lower judiciary in Delhi in several capacities, including subordinate civil judge, metropolitan magistrate, insolvency judge, judge of the small causes court, and rent controller. Between 1987 and 1991, she was also the secretary for legal aid services in the district courts in Delhi.\n\nIn 1991, Suresh joined the Delhi Higher Judicial Service. She worked as a district and sessions judge, and also served as a special judge for cases prosecuted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, for cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation, and a sessions judge in the Mahila Adalat (Women's Court). In addition to hearing criminal cases, Suresh worked as an additional district judge, hearing civil cases. In 2006, she was appointed the chief district and sessions judge for Delhi.\n\nDelhi High Court \nSuresh was appointed to the Delhi High Court on 4 July 2006 as an additional judge, and was confirmed as a permanent judge on 11 February 2008. In 2009, Suresh, along with another judge, Pradeep Nandrajog, acquitted an army officer who had been accused of murdering a businessman by mailing him a parcel bomb in 1982. They held that the evidence against the 71 year old officer was \"weak\" and released him after 27 years of imprisonment. The case was widely reported.\n\nIn 2010, Suresh was one of the judges who heard a case between the University of Delhi and their teachers' union, which had refused to teach classes after the university switched from an annual examination system to a system of examinations conducted every semester. The case was filed by the Delhi University Teachers' Union, and ultimately decided in favour of the University, allowing the semester system to be implemented.\n\nOdisha High Court \nSuresh was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Odisha High Court, taking up her appointment on 28 October 2010. The move was ordered by President Pratibha Patil, who transferred 11 judges on recommendations from the Supreme Court .\n\nIn December 2010, Suresh asked a senior advocate in the High Court to take his seat, after he intervened in a case that he was not involved in, to argue a point for a counsel in that matter. In response to her request, the Odisha High Court Bar Association boycotted her court, with the secretary of the association describing the request as \"hurtful\". Suresh went on leave following the boycott.\n\nShe retired on 17 February 2012. She is currently on the panel of arbitrators listed with the Indian Council of Arbitration.\n\nPersonal life \nSuresh was educated in Delhi, graduating from Inderprastha College, University of Delhi in 1969. She studied law at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.\n\nReferences \n\n1950 births\nLiving people\nJudges of the Delhi High Court\nJudges of the Orissa High Court\nDelhi University alumni\n20th-century Indian judges\n20th-century Indian women judges\n21st-century Indian judges\n21st-century Indian women judges"
] |
[
"Michael Jackson",
"2002-2005: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal",
"what was he accused of in 2002-2005?",
"Prince was briefly extended over a railing,",
"What was the court verdict for the second child sexual abuse allegation?",
"Jackson was acquitted on all counts.",
"what were the accusations in that abuse case?",
"relation to the 13-year-old boy",
"who was the judge in this case?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_56dffd56bfef46f9af2d69c5fc11f313_1
|
Did his celebrity friends become witnesses for him?
| 5 |
Did Michael Jackson's celebrity friends become witnesses for him?
|
Michael Jackson
|
Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son Prince onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm with a cloth loosely draped over Prince's face. Prince was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Bashir's crew was with Jackson during this incident; the program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy. As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time. After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly, Jackson was arrested in November 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old boy shown in the film. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation, he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. Unknown to Jackson, Bahrain was also where the family had intended to send Jackson if he had been convicted, according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011. On November 17, 2003, three days before Jackson's arrest, Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units. CANNOTANSWER
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded individual music artist in history.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, while Bad was the first album to produce five U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend. The lawsuit was settled out of civil court; Jackson was not indicted due to lack of evidence. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf in either case. In 2009, while preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era) and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. His honors include 15 Grammy Awards, 6 Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award and 39 Guinness World Records, including the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time". Jackson's inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted) and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, his estate earned $825million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.
Life and career
Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, near Chicago, on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. Joe's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout; family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose", and physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to punish any mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael. Katherine said that although whipping came to be considered abuse, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which were harder on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble. Jackson said his youth was lonely and isolated.
Later in 1964, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to bolster her career in television—sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line". The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house on a two-acre estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In 1975, the Jackson 5 left Motown. They signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records, and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).
In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical directed by Sidney Lumet. It costarred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night". In 1978, Jackson broke his nose during a dance routine. A rhinoplasty led to breathing difficulties that later affected his career. He was referred to Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's operations.
Jackson's fifth solo album, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–1983)
Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio, and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use. The songs were released in 2014. Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory (1984). In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in late 1982. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983, and became the best-selling album of all time in the US and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated copies. It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to produce seven Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16 to an estimated audience of , and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars. Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first Emmy Award nomination. Wearing a glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his moonwalk dance, which Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier, and it became his signature dance in his repertoire. Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television. But at the request of Motown founder Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for an opportunity to do a solo performance. Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance. Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, Thriller won eight awards, and Jackson won an award for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. Winning eight Grammys in one ceremony is a record he holds with the band Santana. Jackson and Quincy Jones won the award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical). Thriller won Album of the Year (with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer), and the single won Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male). "Billie Jean" won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male), with Jackson as songwriter and singer respectively. Thriller won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical), acknowledging Bruce Swedien for his work on the album. At the 11th Annual American Music Awards, Jackson won another eight awards and became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit. He also won Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Artist. "Beat It" won Favorite Soul/R&B Video, Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Pop/Rock Single. The album collectively won Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, with about $2 for every album sold (), and was making record-breaking profits. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each. In the same year, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a music documentary, won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Longform). Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too." The New York Times wrote "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else."
On May 14, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award recognizing his support of alcohol and drug abuse charities, and in recognition of his support for the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson allowed the campaign to use "Beat It" for its public service announcements.
Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career (1984–1985)
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement (). The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean", with revised lyrics, as its jingle.
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by Phil Dusenberry, a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its now closed Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for $10million. The second campaign covered 20 countries and provided financial support for Jackson's Bad album and 1987–88 world tour. Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as LA Gear, Suzuki, and Sony, but none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi.
The Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons and showcased Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson donated his share of the proceeds, an estimated , to charity. During the last concert of the Victory Tour at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jackson announced his split from The Jacksons during "Shake Your Body". His charitable work continued with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa. It earned $63million (), and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20million copies sold. It won four Grammy Awards in 1985, including Song of the Year for Jackson and Richie as its writers. The project's creators received two special American Music Awards honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Jones, and promoter Ken Kragen received special awards for their roles in the song's creation.
Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s, and learned that McCartney was making $40million a year from owning the rights to other artists' songs. By 1983, Jackson had begun buying publishing rights to others' songs, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson's early acquisitions of music catalogs and song copyrights such as the Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968), Len Barry's "1–2–3" (1965), and Dion DiMucci's "The Wanderer" (1961) and "Runaround Sue" (1961).
In 1984, Robert Holmes à Court announced he was selling the ATV Music Publishing catalog comprising the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including most of the Beatles' material. In 1981, McCartney had been offered the catalog for £20million ($40million). Jackson submitted a bid of $46million on November 20, 1984. When Jackson and McCartney were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, and did not pursue an offer on his own. Jackson's agents were unable to come to a deal, and in May 1985 left talks after having spent more than $1million and four months of due diligence work on the negotiations. In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative offer to buy ATV Music for $50million; in early August, Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson's increased bid of $47.5million () was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence. Jackson agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.
Changing appearance, tabloids, and films (1986–1987)
Jackson's skin had been medium-brown during his youth, but from the mid-1980s gradually grew paler. The change drew widespread media coverage, including speculation that he had been bleaching his skin. Jackson's dermatologist, Arnold Klein, said he observed in 1983 that Jackson had vitiligo, a condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment, and sensitivity to sunlight. He also identified discoid lupus erythematosus in Jackson. He diagnosed Jackson with lupus that year, and with vitiligo in 1986. Vitiligo's drastic effects on the body can cause psychological distress. Jackson used fair-colored makeup, and possibly skin-bleaching prescription creams, to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. The creams would have further lightened his skin, and, with the application of makeup, he could appear very pale. Jackson said he had not purposely bleached his skin and could not control his vitiligo, adding, "When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me." He became friends with Klein and Klein's assistant, Debbie Rowe. Rowe later became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his first two children.
In his 1988 autobiography and a 1993 interview, Jackson said he had had two rhinoplasty surgeries and a cleft chin surgery but no more than that. He said he lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet to achieve a dancer's body. Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy, and speculated he was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Periods of weight loss became a recurring problem later in his life. After his death, Jackson's mother said that he first turned to cosmetic procedures to remedy his vitiligo, because he did not want to look like a "spotted cow". She said he had received more than the two cosmetic surgeries he claimed and speculated that he had become addicted to them.
In 1986, tabloids reported that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, and pictured him lying in a glass box. The claim was untrue, and tabloids reported that he spread the story himself. They also reported that Jackson took female hormone shots to keep his voice high and facial hair wispy, proposed to Elizabeth Taylor and possibly had a shrine of her, and had cosmetic surgery on his eyes. Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo denied all of them, except for Jackson having a chamber. DiLeo added "I don't know if he sleeps in it. I'm not for it. But Michael thinks it's something that's probably healthy for him. He's a bit of a health fanatic."
When Jackson took his pet chimpanzee Bubbles to tour in Japan, the media portrayed Jackson as an aspiring Disney cartoon character who befriended animals. It was also reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "Elephant Man"). In June 1987, the Chicago Tribune reported Jackson's publicist bidding $1million for the skeleton to the London Hospital Medical College on his behalf. The college maintained the skeleton was not for sale. DiLeo said Jackson had an "absorbing interest" in Merrick, "purely based on his awareness of the ethical, medical and historical significance."
These tabloid stories inspired the name "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise. According to music journalist Joseph Vogel, the demeaning name first appeared in British tabloid The Sun in 1985. The name's origins come from Jacko Macacco, the name of a famous monkey used in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in the early 1820s. "Jacko" was used in Cockney slang to refer to monkeys in general, hence a racist connotation behind the name.
In 1987, Rolling Stone described Jackson as "the flighty-genius star-child, a celebrity virtually all his life, who dwells in a fairy-tale kingdom of fellow celebrities, animals, mannequins and cartoons, who provides endless fodder for the tabloids.... But it’s the same child in Michael who inspires the artistry that fuels all the subsidiary industries, who turns his primal fears and fantasies into wondrous, hyperkinetic and emotional music."
Jackson worked with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute $30million 3D film Captain EO, which ran from 1986 at Disneyland and Epcot, and later at Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland. After having been removed in the late 1990s, it returned to the theme park for several years after Jackson's death. In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Katherine Jackson said this might have been because some Witnesses strongly opposed the Thriller video. Michael had denounced it in a Witness publication in 1984.
Bad, autobiography, and Neverland (1987–1990)
Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated, with the industry expecting another major success. It became the first album to produce five US number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Another song, "Smooth Criminal", peaked at number seven. Bad won the 1988 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone". Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards in 1989 after Bad generated five number-one singles, became the first album to top the charts in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and 1988. By 2012, it had sold between 30 and 45million copies worldwide.
The Bad world tour ran from September 12, 1987, to January 14, 1989. In Japan, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record for a single tour. The 504,000 people who attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium set a new Guinness World Record.
In 1988, Jackson released his autobiography, Moonwalk, with input from Stephen Davis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It sold 200,000 copies, and reached the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Jackson discussed his childhood, the Jackson 5, and the abuse from his father. He attributed his changing facial appearance to three plastic surgeries, puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hairstyle, and stage lighting. In October, Jackson released a film, Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films starring Jackson and Joe Pesci. In the US it was released direct-to-video and became the best-selling video cassette. The RIAA certified it as eight time Platinum.
In March 1988, Jackson purchased of land near Santa Ynez, California, to build a new home, Neverland Ranch, at a cost of $17million (). He installed a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a movie theater and a zoo. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. Shortly afterwards, he appeared in the first Western television advertisement in the Soviet Union.
Jackson became known as the "King of Pop", a nickname that Jackson's publicists embraced. When Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, she called him "the true king of pop, rock and soul." President George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade". From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $455,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. His rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration won Jackson a second Emmy nomination. Jackson was the bestselling artist of the 1980s.
Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII halftime show (1991–1993)
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65million (), a record-breaking deal, beating Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records. In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous, co-produced with Teddy Riley. It was certified eight times platinum in the US, and by 2018 had sold 32million copies worldwide. In the US, the first single, "Black or White", was the album's highest-charting song; it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and achieved similar chart performances worldwide. The second single, "Remember the Time" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992, Dangerous was the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" the best-selling single of the year worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. In 1993, he performed "Remember the Time" at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he twisted his ankle during dance rehearsals. In the UK, "Heal the World" made No. 2 on the charts in 1992.
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to use the theme park rides, and sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. That July, Jackson published his second book, Dancing the Dream, a collection of poetry. The Dangerous World Tour ran between June 1992 and November 1993 and grossed (); Jackson performed for 3.5million people in 70 concerts, all of which were outside the US. Part of the proceeds went to Heal the World Foundation. Jackson sold the broadcast rights of the tour to HBO for $20million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.
Following the death of HIV/AIDS spokesperson and friend Ryan White, Jackson pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research and performed "Gone Too Soon", a song dedicated to White, and "Heal the World" at the gala. Jackson visited Africa in early 1992; on his first stop in Gabon he was greeted by more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read "Welcome Home Michael", and was awarded an Officer of the National Order of Merit from President Omar Bongo. During his trip to Ivory Coast, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
In January 1993, Jackson performed at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in Pasadena, California. The NFL sought a big-name artist to keep ratings high during halftime following dwindling audience figures. It was the first Super Bowl whose half-time performance drew greater audience figures than the game. Jackson played "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Dangerous rose 90 places in the album chart after the performance.
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993. He spoke of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood, and said that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, and stated for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its release.
In January 1993, Jackson won three American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence. In February, he won the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He attended the award ceremony with Brooke Shields. Dangerous was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (for "Black or White"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Jam") and Best R&B Song ("Jam"), and Swedien and Riley won the award for Best Engineered – Non Classical.
First child sexual abuse accusations and first marriage (1993–1995)
In August 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler. Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. While Jordan's mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested him, her position wavered a few days later. Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money. Jackson's older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile; she later retracted this, saying she had been forced into it by her abusive husband. Police raided Jackson's home in August and found two legal large-format art books featuring young boys playing, running and swimming in various states of undress. Jackson denied knowing of the books' content and claimed if they were there someone had to send them to him and he did not open them. Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match. In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for a reported total sum of $23 million. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.
Jackson had been taking painkillers for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations. On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked close friend Elizabeth Taylor for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his relationship with Pepsi-Cola which sponsored the tour.
In late 1993, Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez. The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect Jackson's sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley's career as a singer. Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995. Presley cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the next month and only sought to reclaim her maiden name as her settlement. After the divorce, Judge Perez said, "They lasted longer than I thought they would. I gave them a year. They lasted a year and a half."
Jackson was set to compose music for the Sega Genesis video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), but left the project around the time the sexual abuse allegations surfaced and went uncredited. Jackson was a Sonic fan, and had collaborated with Sega for the 1990 arcade game Moonwalker. The reasons for Jackson's departure and whether his compositions remain in the released game have been the subject of debate. Sega Technical Institute director Roger Hector and Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Naoto Ohshima said that Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music reworked following the allegations. However, Jackson's musical director Brad Buxer and two other members of Jackson's team, Doug Grigsby III and Ciorocco Jones, said the music remained and that Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis replicated his music.
HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood (1995–1997)
In June 1995, Jackson released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, is a greatest hits album (reissued in 2001 as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I). The second disc, HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for eight million shipments in the US. It is the best-selling multi-disc album of all time, with 20million copies (40million units) sold worldwide. HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The New York Times reviewed it as "the testimony of a musician whose self-pity now equals his talent".
The first single from HIStory was "Scream/Childhood". "Scream", a duet with Jackson's youngest sister Janet, protests the media's treatment of Jackson during the 1993 child abuse allegations against him. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The second single, "You Are Not Alone", holds the Guinness world record for the first song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance" in 1995.
In 1995 the Anti-Defamation League and other groups complained that "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me", the original lyrics of "They Don't Care About Us", were antisemitic. Jackson released a version with revised words.
In late 1995, Jackson was admitted to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance, caused by a stress-related panic attack. In November, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He retained ownership of half the company, earning $95million up front () as well as the rights to more songs.
"Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995. It became the 87th-bestselling single in the UK. At the 1996 Brit Awards, Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" was disrupted by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, who was protesting what Cocker saw as Jackson's "Christ-like" persona. Jackson said the stage invasion was "disgusting and cowardly".
In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Jackson promoted HIStory with the HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996, to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed . During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology assistant, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8million settlement (). In 2004, after the second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at copies, making it the best-selling remix album of all time. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, the album reached number 24 and was certified platinum.
Label dispute and Invincible (1997–2002)
From October 1997 to September 2001, Jackson worked on his tenth solo album, Invincible, which cost to record. In June 1999, Jackson joined Luciano Pavarotti for a War Child benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show raised a million dollars for refugees of the Kosovo War, and additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Later that month, Jackson organized a series of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO. From August 1999 to 2000, he lived in New York City at 4 East 74th Street. At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s. In 2000, Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson performed with his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Monica, Liza Minnelli, and Slash. The first show was marred by technical lapses, and the crowd booed a speech by Marlon Brando. Almost 30million people watched the television broadcast of the shows in November. After the September 11 attacks, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001. Jackson performed "What More Can I Give" as the finale.
The release of Invincible was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits, but clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. Invincible was released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and the last album of original material he released in his lifetime. It debuted at number one in 13 countries and went on to sell eightmillion copies worldwide, receiving double-platinum certification in the US.
On January 9, 2002, Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century. Later that year, an anonymous surrogate mother gave birth to his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), who had been conceived by artificial insemination. On November 20, Jackson briefly held Blanket over the railing of his Berlin hotel room, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". On January 22, promoter Marcel Avram filed a breach of contract complaint against Jackson for failing to perform two planned 1999 concerts. In March, a Santa Maria jury ordered Jackson to pay Avram $5.3million. On December 18, 2003, Jackson's attorneys dropped all appeals on the verdict and settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
On April 24, 2002, Jackson performed at Apollo Theater. The concert was a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and former President Bill Clinton. The money collected would be used to encourage citizens to vote. It raised $2.5million. The concert was called Michael Jackson: Live at the Apollo and this would be Jackson's final on-stage performance.
In July 2002, Jackson called Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola "a racist, and very, very, very devilish," and someone who exploits black artists for his own gain, at Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem. The accusation prompted Sharpton to form a coalition investigating whether Mottola exploited black artists. Jackson charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger". Responding to those attacks, Sony issued a statement calling them "ludicrous, spiteful, and hurtful" and defended Mottola as someone who had championed Jackson's career for many years. Sony ultimately refused to renew Jackson's contract and claimed that a promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the US for Invincible.
Second child sexual abuse allegations, trial, and acquittal (2002–2005)
Beginning in May 2002, a documentary film crew led by Martin Bashir followed Jackson for several months. The documentary, broadcast in February 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson, showed Jackson holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a 12-year-old boy. He said that he saw nothing wrong with having sleepovers with minors and sharing his bed and bedroom with various people, which aroused controversy. He insisted that the sleepovers were not sexual and that his words had been misunderstood.
On November 18, 2003, Sony released Number Ones, a greatest hits compilation. It was certified five-times platinum by the RIAA, and nine times platinum in the UK, for shipments of at least 2.7million units.
On December 18, 2003, Santa Barbara authorities charged Jackson with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks. Jackson denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. Jackson found the experience stressful and it affected his health. If convicted, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he became reclusive and moved to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
In December 2009, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released files on Michael Jackson. These files revealed the Bureau's role in the 2005 trial and the 1993 allegations against Jackson, among other revelations. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf.
Final years and This Is It (2006–2009)
In April 2006, Jackson agreed to use a piece of his ATV catalog stake, then worth about $1billion, as collateral against his $270million worth of loans from Bank of America. Bank of America had sold the loans to Fortress Investments, an investment company that buys distressed loans, the year before. As part of the agreement, Fortress Investments provided Jackson a new loan of $300million with reduced interest payments (). Sony Music would have the option to buy half of his stake, or about 25% of the catalog, at a set price. Jackson's financial managers had urged him to shed part of his stake to avoid bankruptcy. The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure, while Jackson lived in Bahrain at the hospitality of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son. At least 30 of Jackson's employees had not been paid on time and were owed $306,000 in back wages; Jackson was ordered to pay $100,000 in penalties.
In early 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup, Two Seas Records; nothing came of the deal, and Two Seas CEO Guy Holmes later said it was never finalized. That October, Fox News reported that Jackson had been recording at a studio in County Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known what Jackson was working on, or who had paid for the sessions; his publicist stated that he had left Two Seas by then.
In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC reported that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am. On November 15, Jackson briefly performed "We Are the World" at the World Music Awards in London and accepted the Diamond Award honoring the sale of over records. The event was Jackson's last public performance in his lifetime. He returned to the U.S. in December 2006, settling in Las Vegas, and attended James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia later that month, where he gave a eulogy calling Brown his greatest inspiration.
In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought another music publishing company, Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. The deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem and Beck, among others. In a brief interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Jackson said he had no regrets about his lifelong career despite difficulties and "deliberate attempts to hurt [him]". That March, Jackson visited a US Army post in Japan, Camp Zama, to greet over 3,000 troops and their families.
In September 2007, Jackson was still working on his next album, which he never completed. For the 25th anniversary of Thriller in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25, with two remixes released as singles: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008". For Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest hits albums, King of Pop, with different tracklists for different regions.
In 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson had used as collateral for his loans. Fortress sold Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. The deal earned him . Jackson arranged to sell a collection of his memorabilia of more than 1,000 items through Julien's Auction House. On the eve of the first public exhibit, Jackson canceled the auction after earning between $200million to $300million of initial sales from a series of concerts to be held in London.
In March 2009, amid speculation about his finances and health, Jackson announced a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, at a press conference at The O2 Arena. The shows were to be his first major concerts since the HIStory World Tour in 1997. Jackson suggested he would retire after the shows. The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, predicted the first 10 dates would earn Jackson £50million. The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record-breaking ticket sales; over one million were sold in less than two hours. The concerts were to run from July 13, 2009, to March 6, 2010. Jackson moved to Los Angeles, where he rehearsed in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega, whom he had worked with during his previous tours. Most rehearsals took place at the Staples Center owned by AEG.
Death
On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first This Is It show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from cardiac arrest. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 pm Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later. Jackson was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after Jackson's arrival there, but were unsuccessful, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).
Jackson was administered propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; his death was caused by a propofol overdose. News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload, and putting unprecedented strain on services and websites including Google, AOL Instant Messenger, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Overall, web traffic rose by between 11% and 20%. MTV and BET aired marathons of Jackson's music videos, and Jackson specials aired on television stations around the world. MTV briefly returned to its original music video format, and aired hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.
Memorial service
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Over 1.6million fans applied for tickets to the memorial; the 8,750 recipients were drawn at random, and each received two tickets. The memorial service was one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of 31.1million and a worldwide audience of an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion.
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the memorial, and Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies. Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children: "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Katherine, speaking publicly for the first time, wept as she addressed the crowd. The Rev. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. Jackson's body was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Criminal investigation and prosecution of Conrad Murray
In August 2009, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide. Law enforcement officials charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter on February 8, 2010. In late 2011, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and held without bail to await sentencing. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison.
Posthumous sales
At the 2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, including two for his compilation album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26. In the year after his death, more than 16.1million of Jackson's albums sold in the US and 35million albums sold worldwide, more than any other artist in 2009. He became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, with 2.6million song downloads. Thriller, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson became the first catalog albums to outsell any new album. Jackson also became the first artist to have four of the top 20 best-selling albums in a single year in the US.
Following the surge in sales, in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250million deal () with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017; it had been due to expire in 2015. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history. They agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. The deal was extended in 2017. That July, a Los Angeles court awarded Jones $9.4million of disputed royalty payments for Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate's stake in EMI for $287.5million.
In 2014, Jackson became the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. The following year, Thriller became the first album to be certified for 30million shipments by the RIAA; a year later, it was certified 33× platinum, after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
Posthumous releases and productions
The first posthumous Jackson song, "This Is It", co-written in the 1980s with Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals. It was followed by a documentary film about the rehearsals for the canceled This Is It tour, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and a compilation album. Despite a limited two-week engagement, the film became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, with earnings of more than worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album, Michael, and the promotional single "Breaking News". Jackson collaborator Will.i.am expressed disgust, saying that Jackson would not have approved the release.
Video game developer Ubisoft released a music video game featuring Jackson for the 2010 holiday season, Michael Jackson: The Experience; it was among the first games to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the motion-detecting camera systems for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Xscape, an album of unreleased material, was released on May 13, 2014. Later that year, Queen released a duet recorded with Jackson and Freddie Mercury in the 1980s. A compilation album, Scream, was released on September 29, 2017.
In October 2011, the theater company Cirque du Soleil launched Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, a $57-million production, in Montreal, with a permanent show resident in Las Vegas. A larger and more theatrical Cirque show, Michael Jackson: One, designed for residency at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opened on May 23, 2013, in a renovated theater. A jukebox musical, MJ the Musical, premiered on Broadway in 2022.
In April 2011, Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of Fulham Football Club, unveiled a statue of Jackson outside the club stadium, Craven Cottage. It was moved to the National Football Museum in Manchester in May 2014, and removed from display in March 2019 following renewed sexual assault allegations.
In 2012, in an attempt to end a family dispute, Jackson's brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing executors of Jackson's estate and his mother's advisors over the legitimacy of his brother's will. T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael Jackson's children after false reports of Katherine Jackson going missing. A duet between Jackson and Justin Timberlake titled "Love Never Felt So Good" was released in 2014, making Jackson the first artist to have a top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when the single reached number 9. In November 2019, it was reported that a Jackson biopic, produced by Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) producer Graham King, was in the works, with the screenplay written by John Logan. Jackson's estate granted King the rights to his music and will work with King.
Posthumous child sexual abuse allegations
In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old (1989–1996). In 2014, a case was filed by James Safechuck, alleging sexual abuse over a four-year period from the age of ten (1988–1992). Both had testified in Jackson's defense during the 1993 allegations; Robson did so again in 2005. In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed on the grounds of being filed too late. Safechuck's claim was also time-barred. In 2017, it was ruled that Jackson's corporations could not be held accountable for his alleged past actions. The rulings were appealed, and on October 20, 2020, Safechuck's lawsuit against Jackson's corporations was again dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that there was no evidence that Safechuck had a relationship with Jackson's companies. On April 26, 2021, Robson's case was dismissed because of a lack of supporting evidence that the defendants exercised control over Jackson.
Robson and Safechuck described allegations in graphic detail in the documentary Leaving Neverland, released in March 2019. Radio stations in New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands removed Jackson's music from their playlists. Jackson's family condemned the film as a "public lynching", and the Jackson estate released a statement calling the film a "tabloid character assassination [Jackson] endured in life, and now in death". Close associates of Jackson, such as Corey Feldman, Aaron Carter, Brett Barnes, and Macaulay Culkin, said that Jackson had not molested them. Rebuttal documentaries, such as Square One: Michael Jackson, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary and Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, presented information countering the claims. Jackson's album sales increased following the documentary. Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said she and a colleague interviewed about thirty music executives who believed Jackson's legacy could withstand the controversy. In late 2019, some New Zealand and Canadian radio stations re-added Jackson's music to their playlists, citing "positive listener survey results".
On February 21, 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The suit sought to compel HBO to participate in a non-confidential arbitration that could result in $100million or more in damages rewarded to the estate. HBO said they did not breach a contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. In September 2019, Judge George H. Wu denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to arbitrate. HBO appealed, but in December 2020 the appeal court affirmed Judge Wu's ruling.
Legacy
Jackson has been referred to as the "King of Pop" for having transformed the art of music videos and paving the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation. His influence extended beyond the music industry; he impacted dance, led fashion trends, and raised awareness for global affairs. Jackson's music and videos fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. In songs such as "Man in the Mirror", "Black or White", Heal the World, "Earth Song" and "They Don't Care About Us", Jackson's music emphasized racial integration and environmentalism and protested injustice. He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, and his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Danyel Smith, chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of Vibe, described Jackson as "the Greatest Star". Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". BET said Jackson was "quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" whose "sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artists of all genres".
In 1984, Time pop critic Jay Cocks wrote that "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." He described Jackson as a "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too." In 2003, The Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius". At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy called Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived". In a June 28, 2009 Baltimore Sun article, Jill Rosen wrote that Jackson's legacy influenced fields including sound, dance, fashion, music videos and celebrity.
Pop critic Robert Christgau wrote that Jackson's work from the 1970s to the early 1990s showed "immense originality, adaptability, and ambition" with "genius beats, hooks, arrangements, and vocals (though not lyrics)", music that "will stand forever as a reproach to the puritanical notion that pop music is slick or shallow and that's the end of it". During the 1990s, as Jackson lost control of his "troubling life", his music suffered and began to shape "an arc not merely of promise fulfilled and outlived, but of something approaching tragedy: a phenomenally ebullient child star tops himself like none before, only to transmute audibly into a lost weirdo". In the 2000s, Christgau wrote: "Jackson's obsession with fame, his grotesque life magnified by his grotesque wealth, are such an offense to rock aesthetes that the fact that he's a great musician is now often forgotten".
Artistry
Influences
Jackson was influenced by musicians including James Brown, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, and David Ruffin. Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson, but Brown was his greatest inspiration; he later said that as a small child, his mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson described being "mesmerized".
Jackson's vocal technique was influenced by Diana Ross; his use of the oooh interjection from a young age was something Ross had used on many of her songs with the Supremes. She was a mother figure to him, and he often watched her rehearse. He said he had learned a lot from watching how she moved and sang, and that she had encouraged him to have confidence in himself.
Choreographer David Winters, who met Jackson while choreographing the 1971 Diana Ross TV special Diana!, said that Jackson watched the musical West Side Story almost every week, and it was his favorite film; he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.
Vocal style
Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed. Between 1971 and 1975, his voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. He was known for his vocal range. With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder, and wrote that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly." By the time of 1982's Thriller, Rolling Stone wrote that Jackson was singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".
The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. Of Invincible, Rolling Stone wrote that, at 43, Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Joseph Vogel notes Jackson's ability to use non-verbal sounds to express emotion. Neil McCormick wrote that Jackson's unorthodox singing style "was original and utterly distinctive".
Musicianship
Jackson had no formal music training and could not read or write music notation. He is credited for playing guitar, keyboard, and drums, but was not proficient in them. When composing, he recorded ideas by beatboxing and imitating instruments vocally. Describing the process, he said: "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder. I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick and that's what inspires the melody." Engineer Robert Hoffman recalled that after Jackson came in with a song he had written overnight, Jackson sang every note of every chord to a guitar player. Hoffman also remembered Jackson singing string arrangements part by part into a cassette recorder.
Dance
Jackson danced from a young age as part of the Jackson 5, and incorporated dance extensively in his performances and music videos. According to Sanjoy Roy of The Guardian, Jackson would "flick and retract his limbs like switchblades, or snap out of a tornado spin into a perfectly poised toe-stand". The moonwalk, taught to him by Jeffrey Daniel, was Jackson's signature dance move and one of the most famous of the 20th century. Jackson is credited for coining the name "moonwalk"; the move was previously known as the "backslide". His other moves included the robot, crotch grab, and the "anti-gravity" lean of the "Smooth Criminal" video.
Themes and genres
Jackson explored genres including pop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, post-disco, dance-pop and new jack swing. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful. Its tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature", and "The Girl Is Mine", the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".
With Off the Wall, Jackson's "vocabulary of grunts, squeals, hiccups, moans, and asides" vividly showed his maturation into an adult, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). The album's title track suggested to the critic a parallel between Jackson and Stevie Wonder's "oddball" music personas: "Since childhood his main contact with the real world has been on stage and in bed." With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson depicts an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered her child, and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in a homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He observed that "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover is seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, and "Man in the Mirror" is a ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" is an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a paradoxical person. The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". It was the first Jackson album in which social ills became a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. Dangerous contains sexually charged songs such as "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith". In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.
HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. In the new jack swing-funk rock tracks "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", and the R&B ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments his "fall from grace"; "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are operatic pop songs. In "D.S.", Jackson attacks lawyer Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who had prosecuted him in both child sexual abuse cases; he describes Sneddon as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Invincible includes urban soul tracks such as "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn", and "Butterflies" and mixes hip hop, pop, and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".
Music videos and choreography
Jackson released "Thriller", a 14-minute music video directed by John Landis, in 1983. The zombie-themed video "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on MTV, which had launched two years earlier. Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", which led to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, and helped other black music artists gain recognition. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped the relatively new channel's viewing figures, and MTV's focus shifted toward pop and R&B. His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage shows, making it acceptable for artists to lip-sync to music video on stage. The choreography in Thriller has been copied in Indian films and prisons in the Philippines. Thriller marked an increase in scale for music videos, and was named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.
In "Bad"'s 19-minute video—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson used sexual imagery and choreography, and touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Winfrey in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he said it was spontaneously compelled by the music. Time magazine described the "Bad" video as "infamous". It featured Wesley Snipes; Jackson's later videos often featured famous cameo roles. For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe to lock the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted for the device. The video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, but in 1989 was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards and won a Golden Lion Award for its special effects. It won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988; in 2001 the award was renamed in his honor. The "Black or White" video simultaneously premiered on November 14, 1991, in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500million people, the largest audience ever for a music video at the time. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped introduce morphing to music videos. It was controversial for scenes in which Jackson rubs his crotch, vandalizes cars, and throws a garbage can through a storefront. He apologized and removed the final scene of the video.
"In the Closet" featured Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. "Remember the Time" was set in ancient Egypt, and featured Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson. The video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, gained a record 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations, and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction". The song and its video are Jackson's response to being accused of child molestation in 1993. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. It has been reported as the most expensive music video ever made, at $7million; Romanek has contradicted this. The "Earth Song" video was nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Michael Jackson's Ghosts, a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston, premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by the video for the Pharrell Williams song "Happy". The 2001 video for "You Rock My World" lasts over 13 minutes, was directed by Paul Hunter, and features Chris Tucker and Marlon Brando. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video in 2002.
In December 2009, the Library of Congress selected "Thriller" as the only music video to be preserved in the National Film Registry, as a work of "enduring importance to American culture". Huey wrote that Jackson transformed the music video into an artform and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameos, while breaking down racial barriers.
Honors and awards
Jackson's estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide make him one of the best-selling music artist in history. He had 13 number-one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. He was invited and honored by a President of the United States at the White House three times. In 1984, he was honored with a "Presidential Public Safety Commendation" award by Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian endeavors. In 1990, he was honored as the "Artist of the Decade" by George H. W. Bush. In 1992, he was honored as a "Point of Light Ambassador" by Bush for inviting disadvantaged children to his Neverland Ranch.
He won hundreds of awards, more than any other popular music recording artist. His awards include 39 Guinness World Records, including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a record 26 American Music Awards, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s". He also received the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Jacksons, and in 1984 as a solo artist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and again as a solo artist in 2001. In 2002, he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was the first recording artist to be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was among the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
In 1988, Fisk University honored him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 1992, he was invested as a titular king of Sanwi, a traditional kingdom located in the south-east of Ivory Coast. In July 2009, the Lunar Republic Society named a crater on the Moon after Jackson. In August, for what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him. In 2014, the British Council of Cultural Relations deemed Jackson's life one of the 80 most important cultural moments of the 20th century. World Vitiligo Day has been celebrated on June 25, the anniversary of Jackson's death, to raise awareness of the auto-immune disorder that Jackson suffered from.
Earnings
In 1989, Jackson's annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts were estimated at $125million. Forbes placed Jackson's annual income at $35million in 1996 and $20million in 1997. Estimates of Jackson's net worth during his life range from negative $285million to positive $350million for 2002, 2003 and 2007. Forbes reported in August 2018 that Jackson's total career pretax earnings in life and death were $4.2billion. Sales of his recordings through Sony's music unit earned him an estimated $300million in royalties. He may have earned another $400million from concerts, music publishing (including his share of the Beatles catalog), endorsements, merchandising and music videos.
In 2013, the executors of Jackson's estate filed a petition in the United States Tax Court as a result of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over US federal estate taxes. The executors claim that it was worth about $7million, the IRS that it was worth over $1.1billion. In February 2014, the IRS reported that Jackson's estate owed $702million; $505million in taxes, and $197million in penalties. A trial was held from February 6 to 24, 2017. In 2021, the Tax Court issued a ruling in favor of the estate, ruling that the estate's total combined value of the estate was $111.5 million and that the value of Jackson's name and likeness was $4 million (not the $61 million estimated by the IRS's outside expert witness).
In 2016, Forbes estimated annual gross earnings by the Jackson Estate at $825million, the largest ever recorded for a celebrity, mostly due to the sale of the Sony/ATV catalog. In 2018, the figure was $400million. It was the eighth year since his death that Jackson's annual earnings were reported to be over $100million, thus bringing Jackson's postmortem total to $2.4billion. In 2020, Forbes recognized Jackson as the top-earning dead celebrity each year since his death except 2012.
Discography
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music & Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Filmography
The Wiz (1978)
Captain EO (1986)
Moonwalker (1988)
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
Men in Black II (2002)
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
Bad 25 (2012)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
Tours
Bad (1987–1989)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993)
HIStory World Tour (1996–1997)
MJ & Friends (1999)
Notes
References
Citations
Print sources
Further reading
External links
Michael Jackson at the FBI's website
1958 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American singers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American singers
Accidental deaths in California
African-American businesspeople
African-American choreographers
African-American male dancers
African-American male singers
African-American record producers
African-American rock singers
African-American songwriters
American beatboxers
American child singers
American choreographers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American disco singers
American expatriates in Ireland
American funk singers
American humanitarians
American male dancers
American male pop singers
American male singers
American male songwriters
American manslaughter victims
American multi-instrumentalists
American nonprofit businesspeople
American philanthropists
American pop rock singers
American rhythm and blues singers
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
American soul singers
American tenors
Boy sopranos
Brit Award winners
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Businesspeople from California
Businesspeople from Indiana
Child pop musicians
Culture of Gary, Indiana
Dance-pop musicians
Dancers from California
Dancers from Indiana
Drug-related deaths in California
Epic Records artists
Former Jehovah's Witnesses
Grammy Award winners
Grammy Legend Award winners
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
History of Gary, Indiana
Michael Jackson
Modern dancers
Motown artists
MTV Europe Music Award winners
Music video codirectors
Musicians from Gary, Indiana
New jack swing musicians
People acquitted of sex crimes
People from Santa Barbara County, California
People from Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
People with lupus
People with vitiligo
Post-disco musicians
Record producers from California
Record producers from Indiana
Singers from California
Singers from Indiana
Songwriters from California
Songwriters from Indiana
The Jackson 5 members
World Music Awards winners
World record holders
Writers from California
Writers from Gary, Indiana
| false |
[
"The Celebrity (An Episode) (1897) is the first novel that was published by American author Winston Churchill. It was a minor bestseller of 1898.\n\nPlot\n\nJohn Crocker has been the friend of the Celebrity, long before he became famous. During a summer retreat at Asquith resort, he runs into the Celebrity, who has taken the identity of another man for anonymity. The Celebrity meets Irene Trevor, the daughter of an Ohio state senator, and asks her to marry him, and she accepts. When a female he perceives as more desirable, Marian Thorn, arrives at Asquith, the Celebrity leaves Miss Trevor without breaking off the engagement. That behavior goes against the moral fiber of the Celebrity's stories. Both women know his true identity as a famous writer and are familiar with his published works.\n\nMr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke and his wife are wealthy and have a summer retreat of their own named Mohair. The Celebrity leaves Asquith for Mohair to be with Marian Thorn, who is the niece of the Cookes. The slighted Irene Trevor confides in John Crocker that the Celebrity never broke up with her, an action that could be used against him later.\n\nMr. Cooke throws a party and invites the people from Asquith to join them. John Crocker and Miss Trevor reluctantly go. It appears to John Crocker that Miss Thorn and the Celebrity are romantically involved and he is jealous. Mr. Cooke buys a new yacht, the Maria (named after his wife), and he invites all his guests for a trip to Bear Island.\n\nAt Bear Island, a newspaper brought on board the yacht reveals that Charles Wrexell Allan has embezzled $100,000 from the Miles Standish Bicycle Company. Coincidentally, Allan is the man that the Celebrity is impersonating. When the Celebrity asks John Crocker and Miss Trevor to reveal his true identity, they decide to be mischievous and pretend not to know him by any name but Allan.\n\nAnother yacht enters Bear Island harbor and a man in an obvious disguise, Mr. Dunn, visits the island. The party believes Mr. Dunn is a detective. Mr. Trevor demands that the Celebrity be turned over to authorities. The Celebrity is hidden in a cave for the night. The next day, Mr. Dunn is gone; Mr. Cooke insists on taking the Celebrity to Canada.\n\nA police tug boat catches up to the Maria, and the Celebrity is hidden in the ballast area. Captain McMain, Chief of the Far Harbor Police, searches the boat but does not find the Celebrity. Mr. Cooke finds a cove to stop in for the night. In the morning, while rowing passengers back to the Maria, the police return. John Crocker, the Celebrity, Miss Thorn, and Miss Trevor are left behind on shore.\n\nThe Celebrity asks Miss Thorn to marry him. Miss Thorn then tells Miss Trevor about the proposal, and Miss Trevor reveals that she herself is still engaged to the Celebrity. Now, John Crocker realizes that the girls were in on a plot to humiliate the Celebrity for going against his own doctrine from his stories.\n\nAfter being humiliated the Celebrity leaves the three to escape into Canada. The police come back and pick up John, Miss Thorn, and Miss Trevor in the police tug that is towing the Maria. During the trip back, Captain McCann says he is still looking for the embezzler, Mr. Allen. \n\nMiss Thorn then reveals to John Crocker that she has secretly admired him ever since they met. They realize they are going to become romantically involved in the future. When they reach shore, it is revealed that Mr. Dunn, the suspected detective, has turned out to have been Mr. Allen.\n\nThe story is wrapped up with the marriage of John Crocker and Irene Thorn. They go to Europe and at a party, a book written by the Celebrity is brought up to be signed by the author. On inspection, Crocker realizes the signature is a fraud. He realizes Mr. Allen has been posing as the Celebrity and traveling through Europe on a book signing tour.\n\nLater, during their stay in Paris, the Crockers meet the Celebrity. He has a new girl, has no hard feelings about his summer stay at Asquith and Mohair, has traveled around the World and met Charles Wexell Allen in his travels. He reveals that Mr. Allen thanked him for inadvertently helping him in the embezzlement.\n\nOther\n\nChurchill's first published novel, he started writing the book in the latter half of 1895. His plan to finish the book before an April 1896 trip to Europe did not work out, but Macmillan approved the unfinished manuscript while he was traveling, and asked him to finish it. One attempt to complete it met with some suggestions for revision from the publisher, and the rewritten version finished in France apparently got lost in the mail to New York. Churchill meanwhile began working on his next novel, Richard Carvel, and did not turn back to completing The Celebrity manuscript, which he substantially rewrote, for the final time in mid-1897.\n\nThe Celebrity was published in November 1897, and gained in popularity through 1898. Speculation that the \"celebrity\" of the book was based on popular journalist Richard Harding Davis helped propel the success of the book, but Churchill denied any such intent. The reviewers were not especially enamored of the merits of the book, but already the future promise of his next book was being speculated about.\n\nThe book was dedicated to Albert Shaw, Ph.D.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nThe Celebrity at Project Gutenberg\nThe Celebrity full scan via Google books\n \n\n1897 American novels\nNovels by Winston Churchill (novelist)",
"Not the Same Person You Used to Know () is a South Korean variety show which premiered on Mnet every Thursday at 23:00 (KST) on December 20, 2018.\n\nOn May 8, 2019 it was confirmed that the show will return for a second season, with DinDin the only cast member from Season 1 to return. The new members include Lee Sang-min, Boom, Jang Sung-kyu and Jung Hye-sung. The second season, named V2, is expected to air on every Thursday at 20:00 (KST) starting from June 27, 2019. The season ended on August 15, 2019.\n\nFormat \nAcquaintances of a celebrity (friends, managers, parents, siblings, etc.) are invited to answer a quiz about the celebrity to see if they know him/her as well as they think they do. For instance, they will have to watch videos of the celebrity and predict his/her next actions.\n\nFor Season 2, a slightly different change is that 4 guests related to the celebrity are invited to the show and take on the Non-related Observers (the cast members except Jang Sung-kyu) in a quiz about the celebrity. A total of ₩3,000,000 is up for grabs and the team with more winning money wins the quiz.\n\nCast\n\nSeason 1\n\nSeason 2\n\nEpisodes\n\nSeason 1\n\nSeason 2\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nSouth Korean reality television series\n2018 South Korean television series debuts\nKorean-language television shows\nSouth Korean variety television shows\nMnet (TV channel) original programming\n2019 South Korean television series endings"
] |
[
"Michael Jackson",
"2002-2005: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal",
"what was he accused of in 2002-2005?",
"Prince was briefly extended over a railing,",
"What was the court verdict for the second child sexual abuse allegation?",
"Jackson was acquitted on all counts.",
"what were the accusations in that abuse case?",
"relation to the 13-year-old boy",
"who was the judge in this case?",
"I don't know.",
"Did his celebrity friends become witnesses for him?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_56dffd56bfef46f9af2d69c5fc11f313_1
|
was he ever accused after this trial?
| 6 |
was Michael Jackson ever accused of child sexual abuse after his second trial?
|
Michael Jackson
|
Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son Prince onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm with a cloth loosely draped over Prince's face. Prince was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". Bashir's crew was with Jackson during this incident; the program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy. As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time. After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother had told investigators that Jackson had behaved improperly, Jackson was arrested in November 2003 and charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old boy shown in the film. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation, he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah. Unknown to Jackson, Bahrain was also where the family had intended to send Jackson if he had been convicted, according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011. On November 17, 2003, three days before Jackson's arrest, Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot. He is the most awarded individual music artist in history.
The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). Jackson began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records. He became a solo star with his 1979 album Off the Wall. His music videos, including those for "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an artform and promotional tool. He helped propel the success of MTV and continued to innovate with videos for the albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). Thriller became the best-selling album of all time, while Bad was the first album to produce five U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior and lifestyle. In 1993, he was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend. The lawsuit was settled out of civil court; Jackson was not indicted due to lack of evidence. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf in either case. In 2009, while preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, Jackson died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era) and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. His honors include 15 Grammy Awards, 6 Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award and 39 Guinness World Records, including the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time". Jackson's inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted) and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2016, his estate earned $825million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.
Life and career
Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, near Chicago, on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at U.S. Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. Joe's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout; family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose", and physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to punish any mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael. Katherine said that although whipping came to be considered abuse, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which were harder on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble. Jackson said his youth was lonely and isolated.
Later in 1964, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to bolster her career in television—sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line". The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house on a two-acre estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
In 1975, the Jackson 5 left Motown. They signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records, and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).
In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical directed by Sidney Lumet. It costarred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night". In 1978, Jackson broke his nose during a dance routine. A rhinoplasty led to breathing difficulties that later affected his career. He was referred to Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's operations.
Jackson's fifth solo album, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–1983)
Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio, and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use. The songs were released in 2014. Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory (1984). In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in late 1982. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983, and became the best-selling album of all time in the US and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated copies. It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to produce seven Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16 to an estimated audience of , and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars. Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first Emmy Award nomination. Wearing a glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his moonwalk dance, which Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier, and it became his signature dance in his repertoire. Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television. But at the request of Motown founder Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for an opportunity to do a solo performance. Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance. Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, Thriller won eight awards, and Jackson won an award for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. Winning eight Grammys in one ceremony is a record he holds with the band Santana. Jackson and Quincy Jones won the award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical). Thriller won Album of the Year (with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer), and the single won Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male). "Billie Jean" won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male), with Jackson as songwriter and singer respectively. Thriller won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical), acknowledging Bruce Swedien for his work on the album. At the 11th Annual American Music Awards, Jackson won another eight awards and became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit. He also won Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Artist. "Beat It" won Favorite Soul/R&B Video, Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Pop/Rock Single. The album collectively won Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.
Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, with about $2 for every album sold (), and was making record-breaking profits. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each. In the same year, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a music documentary, won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Longform). Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too." The New York Times wrote "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else."
On May 14, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award recognizing his support of alcohol and drug abuse charities, and in recognition of his support for the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson allowed the campaign to use "Beat It" for its public service announcements.
Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career (1984–1985)
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement (). The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean", with revised lyrics, as its jingle.
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by Phil Dusenberry, a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California; its now closed Michael Jackson Burn Center was named in his honor. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for $10million. The second campaign covered 20 countries and provided financial support for Jackson's Bad album and 1987–88 world tour. Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as LA Gear, Suzuki, and Sony, but none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi.
The Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons and showcased Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson donated his share of the proceeds, an estimated , to charity. During the last concert of the Victory Tour at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jackson announced his split from The Jacksons during "Shake Your Body". His charitable work continued with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), co-written with Lionel Richie, which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa. It earned $63million (), and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20million copies sold. It won four Grammy Awards in 1985, including Song of the Year for Jackson and Richie as its writers. The project's creators received two special American Music Awards honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Jones, and promoter Ken Kragen received special awards for their roles in the song's creation.
Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s, and learned that McCartney was making $40million a year from owning the rights to other artists' songs. By 1983, Jackson had begun buying publishing rights to others' songs, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson's early acquisitions of music catalogs and song copyrights such as the Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968), Len Barry's "1–2–3" (1965), and Dion DiMucci's "The Wanderer" (1961) and "Runaround Sue" (1961).
In 1984, Robert Holmes à Court announced he was selling the ATV Music Publishing catalog comprising the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including most of the Beatles' material. In 1981, McCartney had been offered the catalog for £20million ($40million). Jackson submitted a bid of $46million on November 20, 1984. When Jackson and McCartney were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, and did not pursue an offer on his own. Jackson's agents were unable to come to a deal, and in May 1985 left talks after having spent more than $1million and four months of due diligence work on the negotiations. In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative offer to buy ATV Music for $50million; in early August, Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson's increased bid of $47.5million () was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence. Jackson agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.
Changing appearance, tabloids, and films (1986–1987)
Jackson's skin had been medium-brown during his youth, but from the mid-1980s gradually grew paler. The change drew widespread media coverage, including speculation that he had been bleaching his skin. Jackson's dermatologist, Arnold Klein, said he observed in 1983 that Jackson had vitiligo, a condition characterized by patches of the skin losing their pigment, and sensitivity to sunlight. He also identified discoid lupus erythematosus in Jackson. He diagnosed Jackson with lupus that year, and with vitiligo in 1986. Vitiligo's drastic effects on the body can cause psychological distress. Jackson used fair-colored makeup, and possibly skin-bleaching prescription creams, to cover up the uneven blotches of color caused by the illness. The creams would have further lightened his skin, and, with the application of makeup, he could appear very pale. Jackson said he had not purposely bleached his skin and could not control his vitiligo, adding, "When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me." He became friends with Klein and Klein's assistant, Debbie Rowe. Rowe later became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his first two children.
In his 1988 autobiography and a 1993 interview, Jackson said he had had two rhinoplasty surgeries and a cleft chin surgery but no more than that. He said he lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet to achieve a dancer's body. Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy, and speculated he was suffering from anorexia nervosa. Periods of weight loss became a recurring problem later in his life. After his death, Jackson's mother said that he first turned to cosmetic procedures to remedy his vitiligo, because he did not want to look like a "spotted cow". She said he had received more than the two cosmetic surgeries he claimed and speculated that he had become addicted to them.
In 1986, tabloids reported that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, and pictured him lying in a glass box. The claim was untrue, and tabloids reported that he spread the story himself. They also reported that Jackson took female hormone shots to keep his voice high and facial hair wispy, proposed to Elizabeth Taylor and possibly had a shrine of her, and had cosmetic surgery on his eyes. Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo denied all of them, except for Jackson having a chamber. DiLeo added "I don't know if he sleeps in it. I'm not for it. But Michael thinks it's something that's probably healthy for him. He's a bit of a health fanatic."
When Jackson took his pet chimpanzee Bubbles to tour in Japan, the media portrayed Jackson as an aspiring Disney cartoon character who befriended animals. It was also reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "Elephant Man"). In June 1987, the Chicago Tribune reported Jackson's publicist bidding $1million for the skeleton to the London Hospital Medical College on his behalf. The college maintained the skeleton was not for sale. DiLeo said Jackson had an "absorbing interest" in Merrick, "purely based on his awareness of the ethical, medical and historical significance."
These tabloid stories inspired the name "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise. According to music journalist Joseph Vogel, the demeaning name first appeared in British tabloid The Sun in 1985. The name's origins come from Jacko Macacco, the name of a famous monkey used in monkey-baiting matches at the Westminster Pit in the early 1820s. "Jacko" was used in Cockney slang to refer to monkeys in general, hence a racist connotation behind the name.
In 1987, Rolling Stone described Jackson as "the flighty-genius star-child, a celebrity virtually all his life, who dwells in a fairy-tale kingdom of fellow celebrities, animals, mannequins and cartoons, who provides endless fodder for the tabloids.... But it’s the same child in Michael who inspires the artistry that fuels all the subsidiary industries, who turns his primal fears and fantasies into wondrous, hyperkinetic and emotional music."
Jackson worked with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute $30million 3D film Captain EO, which ran from 1986 at Disneyland and Epcot, and later at Tokyo Disneyland and Euro Disneyland. After having been removed in the late 1990s, it returned to the theme park for several years after Jackson's death. In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses. Katherine Jackson said this might have been because some Witnesses strongly opposed the Thriller video. Michael had denounced it in a Witness publication in 1984.
Bad, autobiography, and Neverland (1987–1990)
Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated, with the industry expecting another major success. It became the first album to produce five US number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Another song, "Smooth Criminal", peaked at number seven. Bad won the 1988 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and the 1990 Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone". Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards in 1989 after Bad generated five number-one singles, became the first album to top the charts in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and 1988. By 2012, it had sold between 30 and 45million copies worldwide.
The Bad world tour ran from September 12, 1987, to January 14, 1989. In Japan, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record for a single tour. The 504,000 people who attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium set a new Guinness World Record.
In 1988, Jackson released his autobiography, Moonwalk, with input from Stephen Davis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It sold 200,000 copies, and reached the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. Jackson discussed his childhood, the Jackson 5, and the abuse from his father. He attributed his changing facial appearance to three plastic surgeries, puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hairstyle, and stage lighting. In October, Jackson released a film, Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films starring Jackson and Joe Pesci. In the US it was released direct-to-video and became the best-selling video cassette. The RIAA certified it as eight time Platinum.
In March 1988, Jackson purchased of land near Santa Ynez, California, to build a new home, Neverland Ranch, at a cost of $17million (). He installed a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a movie theater and a zoo. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. Shortly afterwards, he appeared in the first Western television advertisement in the Soviet Union.
Jackson became known as the "King of Pop", a nickname that Jackson's publicists embraced. When Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, she called him "the true king of pop, rock and soul." President George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade". From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $455,000 to the United Negro College Fund, and all profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. His rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration won Jackson a second Emmy nomination. Jackson was the bestselling artist of the 1980s.
Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII halftime show (1991–1993)
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65million (), a record-breaking deal, beating Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records. In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous, co-produced with Teddy Riley. It was certified eight times platinum in the US, and by 2018 had sold 32million copies worldwide. In the US, the first single, "Black or White", was the album's highest-charting song; it was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and achieved similar chart performances worldwide. The second single, "Remember the Time" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992, Dangerous was the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" the best-selling single of the year worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. In 1993, he performed "Remember the Time" at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he twisted his ankle during dance rehearsals. In the UK, "Heal the World" made No. 2 on the charts in 1992.
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to use the theme park rides, and sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. That July, Jackson published his second book, Dancing the Dream, a collection of poetry. The Dangerous World Tour ran between June 1992 and November 1993 and grossed (); Jackson performed for 3.5million people in 70 concerts, all of which were outside the US. Part of the proceeds went to Heal the World Foundation. Jackson sold the broadcast rights of the tour to HBO for $20million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.
Following the death of HIV/AIDS spokesperson and friend Ryan White, Jackson pleaded with the Clinton administration at Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research and performed "Gone Too Soon", a song dedicated to White, and "Heal the World" at the gala. Jackson visited Africa in early 1992; on his first stop in Gabon he was greeted by more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read "Welcome Home Michael", and was awarded an Officer of the National Order of Merit from President Omar Bongo. During his trip to Ivory Coast, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
In January 1993, Jackson performed at the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in Pasadena, California. The NFL sought a big-name artist to keep ratings high during halftime following dwindling audience figures. It was the first Super Bowl whose half-time performance drew greater audience figures than the game. Jackson played "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Dangerous rose 90 places in the album chart after the performance.
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview with Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993. He spoke of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood, and said that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, and stated for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its release.
In January 1993, Jackson won three American Music Awards: Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence. In February, he won the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. He attended the award ceremony with Brooke Shields. Dangerous was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (for "Black or White"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Jam") and Best R&B Song ("Jam"), and Swedien and Riley won the award for Best Engineered – Non Classical.
First child sexual abuse accusations and first marriage (1993–1995)
In August 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler. Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. While Jordan's mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested him, her position wavered a few days later. Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money. Jackson's older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile; she later retracted this, saying she had been forced into it by her abusive husband. Police raided Jackson's home in August and found two legal large-format art books featuring young boys playing, running and swimming in various states of undress. Jackson denied knowing of the books' content and claimed if they were there someone had to send them to him and he did not open them. Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson's genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match. In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for a reported total sum of $23 million. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.
Jackson had been taking painkillers for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations. On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked close friend Elizabeth Taylor for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his relationship with Pepsi-Cola which sponsored the tour.
In late 1993, Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic, in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez. The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect Jackson's sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley's career as a singer. Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995. Presley cited "irreconcilable differences" when filing for divorce the next month and only sought to reclaim her maiden name as her settlement. After the divorce, Judge Perez said, "They lasted longer than I thought they would. I gave them a year. They lasted a year and a half."
Jackson was set to compose music for the Sega Genesis video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994), but left the project around the time the sexual abuse allegations surfaced and went uncredited. Jackson was a Sonic fan, and had collaborated with Sega for the 1990 arcade game Moonwalker. The reasons for Jackson's departure and whether his compositions remain in the released game have been the subject of debate. Sega Technical Institute director Roger Hector and Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Naoto Ohshima said that Jackson's involvement was terminated and his music reworked following the allegations. However, Jackson's musical director Brad Buxer and two other members of Jackson's team, Doug Grigsby III and Ciorocco Jones, said the music remained and that Jackson went uncredited because he was unhappy with how the Genesis replicated his music.
HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood (1995–1997)
In June 1995, Jackson released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, is a greatest hits album (reissued in 2001 as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I). The second disc, HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for eight million shipments in the US. It is the best-selling multi-disc album of all time, with 20million copies (40million units) sold worldwide. HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The New York Times reviewed it as "the testimony of a musician whose self-pity now equals his talent".
The first single from HIStory was "Scream/Childhood". "Scream", a duet with Jackson's youngest sister Janet, protests the media's treatment of Jackson during the 1993 child abuse allegations against him. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The second single, "You Are Not Alone", holds the Guinness world record for the first song to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance" in 1995.
In 1995 the Anti-Defamation League and other groups complained that "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me", the original lyrics of "They Don't Care About Us", were antisemitic. Jackson released a version with revised words.
In late 1995, Jackson was admitted to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance, caused by a stress-related panic attack. In November, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division, creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He retained ownership of half the company, earning $95million up front () as well as the rights to more songs.
"Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995. It became the 87th-bestselling single in the UK. At the 1996 Brit Awards, Jackson's performance of "Earth Song" was disrupted by Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, who was protesting what Cocker saw as Jackson's "Christ-like" persona. Jackson said the stage invasion was "disgusting and cowardly".
In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form, for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Jackson promoted HIStory with the HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996, to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed . During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology assistant, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8million settlement (). In 2004, after the second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at copies, making it the best-selling remix album of all time. It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track. In the US, the album reached number 24 and was certified platinum.
Label dispute and Invincible (1997–2002)
From October 1997 to September 2001, Jackson worked on his tenth solo album, Invincible, which cost to record. In June 1999, Jackson joined Luciano Pavarotti for a War Child benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show raised a million dollars for refugees of the Kosovo War, and additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Later that month, Jackson organized a series of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO. From August 1999 to 2000, he lived in New York City at 4 East 74th Street. At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s. In 2000, Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson performed with his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Monica, Liza Minnelli, and Slash. The first show was marred by technical lapses, and the crowd booed a speech by Marlon Brando. Almost 30million people watched the television broadcast of the shows in November. After the September 11 attacks, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001. Jackson performed "What More Can I Give" as the finale.
The release of Invincible was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits, but clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. Invincible was released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and the last album of original material he released in his lifetime. It debuted at number one in 13 countries and went on to sell eightmillion copies worldwide, receiving double-platinum certification in the US.
On January 9, 2002, Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century. Later that year, an anonymous surrogate mother gave birth to his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), who had been conceived by artificial insemination. On November 20, Jackson briefly held Blanket over the railing of his Berlin hotel room, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake". On January 22, promoter Marcel Avram filed a breach of contract complaint against Jackson for failing to perform two planned 1999 concerts. In March, a Santa Maria jury ordered Jackson to pay Avram $5.3million. On December 18, 2003, Jackson's attorneys dropped all appeals on the verdict and settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
On April 24, 2002, Jackson performed at Apollo Theater. The concert was a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and former President Bill Clinton. The money collected would be used to encourage citizens to vote. It raised $2.5million. The concert was called Michael Jackson: Live at the Apollo and this would be Jackson's final on-stage performance.
In July 2002, Jackson called Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola "a racist, and very, very, very devilish," and someone who exploits black artists for his own gain, at Al Sharpton's National Action Network in Harlem. The accusation prompted Sharpton to form a coalition investigating whether Mottola exploited black artists. Jackson charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger". Responding to those attacks, Sony issued a statement calling them "ludicrous, spiteful, and hurtful" and defended Mottola as someone who had championed Jackson's career for many years. Sony ultimately refused to renew Jackson's contract and claimed that a promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the US for Invincible.
Second child sexual abuse allegations, trial, and acquittal (2002–2005)
Beginning in May 2002, a documentary film crew led by Martin Bashir followed Jackson for several months. The documentary, broadcast in February 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson, showed Jackson holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a 12-year-old boy. He said that he saw nothing wrong with having sleepovers with minors and sharing his bed and bedroom with various people, which aroused controversy. He insisted that the sleepovers were not sexual and that his words had been misunderstood.
On November 18, 2003, Sony released Number Ones, a greatest hits compilation. It was certified five-times platinum by the RIAA, and nine times platinum in the UK, for shipments of at least 2.7million units.
On December 18, 2003, Santa Barbara authorities charged Jackson with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of intoxicating a minor with alcoholic drinks. Jackson denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted until the end of May. Jackson found the experience stressful and it affected his health. If convicted, he would have faced up to 20 years in prison. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he became reclusive and moved to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.
In December 2009, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released files on Michael Jackson. These files revealed the Bureau's role in the 2005 trial and the 1993 allegations against Jackson, among other revelations. The FBI found no evidence of criminal conduct on Jackson's behalf.
Final years and This Is It (2006–2009)
In April 2006, Jackson agreed to use a piece of his ATV catalog stake, then worth about $1billion, as collateral against his $270million worth of loans from Bank of America. Bank of America had sold the loans to Fortress Investments, an investment company that buys distressed loans, the year before. As part of the agreement, Fortress Investments provided Jackson a new loan of $300million with reduced interest payments (). Sony Music would have the option to buy half of his stake, or about 25% of the catalog, at a set price. Jackson's financial managers had urged him to shed part of his stake to avoid bankruptcy. The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure, while Jackson lived in Bahrain at the hospitality of Sheik Abdullah, the ruler's son. At least 30 of Jackson's employees had not been paid on time and were owed $306,000 in back wages; Jackson was ordered to pay $100,000 in penalties.
In early 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup, Two Seas Records; nothing came of the deal, and Two Seas CEO Guy Holmes later said it was never finalized. That October, Fox News reported that Jackson had been recording at a studio in County Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known what Jackson was working on, or who had paid for the sessions; his publicist stated that he had left Two Seas by then.
In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC reported that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am. On November 15, Jackson briefly performed "We Are the World" at the World Music Awards in London and accepted the Diamond Award honoring the sale of over records. The event was Jackson's last public performance in his lifetime. He returned to the U.S. in December 2006, settling in Las Vegas, and attended James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia later that month, where he gave a eulogy calling Brown his greatest inspiration.
In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought another music publishing company, Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. The deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem and Beck, among others. In a brief interview with the Associated Press in Tokyo, Jackson said he had no regrets about his lifelong career despite difficulties and "deliberate attempts to hurt [him]". That March, Jackson visited a US Army post in Japan, Camp Zama, to greet over 3,000 troops and their families.
In September 2007, Jackson was still working on his next album, which he never completed. For the 25th anniversary of Thriller in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25, with two remixes released as singles: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008". For Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest hits albums, King of Pop, with different tracklists for different regions.
In 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson had used as collateral for his loans. Fortress sold Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. The deal earned him . Jackson arranged to sell a collection of his memorabilia of more than 1,000 items through Julien's Auction House. On the eve of the first public exhibit, Jackson canceled the auction after earning between $200million to $300million of initial sales from a series of concerts to be held in London.
In March 2009, amid speculation about his finances and health, Jackson announced a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, at a press conference at The O2 Arena. The shows were to be his first major concerts since the HIStory World Tour in 1997. Jackson suggested he would retire after the shows. The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, predicted the first 10 dates would earn Jackson £50million. The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record-breaking ticket sales; over one million were sold in less than two hours. The concerts were to run from July 13, 2009, to March 6, 2010. Jackson moved to Los Angeles, where he rehearsed in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer Kenny Ortega, whom he had worked with during his previous tours. Most rehearsals took place at the Staples Center owned by AEG.
Death
On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first This Is It show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from cardiac arrest. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 pm Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later. Jackson was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after Jackson's arrival there, but were unsuccessful, and Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).
Jackson was administered propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; his death was caused by a propofol overdose. News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload, and putting unprecedented strain on services and websites including Google, AOL Instant Messenger, Twitter, and Wikipedia. Overall, web traffic rose by between 11% and 20%. MTV and BET aired marathons of Jackson's music videos, and Jackson specials aired on television stations around the world. MTV briefly returned to its original music video format, and aired hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.
Memorial service
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Over 1.6million fans applied for tickets to the memorial; the 8,750 recipients were drawn at random, and each received two tickets. The memorial service was one of the most watched events in streaming history, with an estimated US audience of 31.1million and a worldwide audience of an estimated 2.5 to 3 billion.
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson, and Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the memorial, and Smokey Robinson and Queen Latifah gave eulogies. Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children: "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Katherine, speaking publicly for the first time, wept as she addressed the crowd. The Rev. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer. Jackson's body was entombed on September 3, 2009, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
Criminal investigation and prosecution of Conrad Murray
In August 2009, the Los Angeles County Coroner ruled that Jackson's death was a homicide. Law enforcement officials charged Murray with involuntary manslaughter on February 8, 2010. In late 2011, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and held without bail to await sentencing. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison.
Posthumous sales
At the 2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, including two for his compilation album Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26. In the year after his death, more than 16.1million of Jackson's albums sold in the US and 35million albums sold worldwide, more than any other artist in 2009. He became the first artist to sell one million music downloads in a week, with 2.6million song downloads. Thriller, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson became the first catalog albums to outsell any new album. Jackson also became the first artist to have four of the top 20 best-selling albums in a single year in the US.
Following the surge in sales, in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250million deal () with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017; it had been due to expire in 2015. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history. They agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work. The deal was extended in 2017. That July, a Los Angeles court awarded Jones $9.4million of disputed royalty payments for Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. In July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate's stake in EMI for $287.5million.
In 2014, Jackson became the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. The following year, Thriller became the first album to be certified for 30million shipments by the RIAA; a year later, it was certified 33× platinum, after Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
Posthumous releases and productions
The first posthumous Jackson song, "This Is It", co-written in the 1980s with Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals. It was followed by a documentary film about the rehearsals for the canceled This Is It tour, Michael Jackson's This Is It, and a compilation album. Despite a limited two-week engagement, the film became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, with earnings of more than worldwide. Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits. In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album, Michael, and the promotional single "Breaking News". Jackson collaborator Will.i.am expressed disgust, saying that Jackson would not have approved the release.
Video game developer Ubisoft released a music video game featuring Jackson for the 2010 holiday season, Michael Jackson: The Experience; it was among the first games to use Kinect and PlayStation Move, the motion-detecting camera systems for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Xscape, an album of unreleased material, was released on May 13, 2014. Later that year, Queen released a duet recorded with Jackson and Freddie Mercury in the 1980s. A compilation album, Scream, was released on September 29, 2017.
In October 2011, the theater company Cirque du Soleil launched Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, a $57-million production, in Montreal, with a permanent show resident in Las Vegas. A larger and more theatrical Cirque show, Michael Jackson: One, designed for residency at the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas, opened on May 23, 2013, in a renovated theater. A jukebox musical, MJ the Musical, premiered on Broadway in 2022.
In April 2011, Mohamed Al-Fayed, chairman of Fulham Football Club, unveiled a statue of Jackson outside the club stadium, Craven Cottage. It was moved to the National Football Museum in Manchester in May 2014, and removed from display in March 2019 following renewed sexual assault allegations.
In 2012, in an attempt to end a family dispute, Jackson's brother Jermaine retracted his signature on a public letter criticizing executors of Jackson's estate and his mother's advisors over the legitimacy of his brother's will. T.J. Jackson, son of Tito Jackson, was given co-guardianship of Michael Jackson's children after false reports of Katherine Jackson going missing. A duet between Jackson and Justin Timberlake titled "Love Never Felt So Good" was released in 2014, making Jackson the first artist to have a top 10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when the single reached number 9. In November 2019, it was reported that a Jackson biopic, produced by Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) producer Graham King, was in the works, with the screenplay written by John Logan. Jackson's estate granted King the rights to his music and will work with King.
Posthumous child sexual abuse allegations
In 2013, choreographer Wade Robson filed a lawsuit alleging that Jackson had sexually abused him for seven years, beginning when he was seven years old (1989–1996). In 2014, a case was filed by James Safechuck, alleging sexual abuse over a four-year period from the age of ten (1988–1992). Both had testified in Jackson's defense during the 1993 allegations; Robson did so again in 2005. In 2015, Robson's case against Jackson's estate was dismissed on the grounds of being filed too late. Safechuck's claim was also time-barred. In 2017, it was ruled that Jackson's corporations could not be held accountable for his alleged past actions. The rulings were appealed, and on October 20, 2020, Safechuck's lawsuit against Jackson's corporations was again dismissed, with the presiding judge ruling that there was no evidence that Safechuck had a relationship with Jackson's companies. On April 26, 2021, Robson's case was dismissed because of a lack of supporting evidence that the defendants exercised control over Jackson.
Robson and Safechuck described allegations in graphic detail in the documentary Leaving Neverland, released in March 2019. Radio stations in New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands removed Jackson's music from their playlists. Jackson's family condemned the film as a "public lynching", and the Jackson estate released a statement calling the film a "tabloid character assassination [Jackson] endured in life, and now in death". Close associates of Jackson, such as Corey Feldman, Aaron Carter, Brett Barnes, and Macaulay Culkin, said that Jackson had not molested them. Rebuttal documentaries, such as Square One: Michael Jackson, Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary and Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth, presented information countering the claims. Jackson's album sales increased following the documentary. Billboard senior editor Gail Mitchell said she and a colleague interviewed about thirty music executives who believed Jackson's legacy could withstand the controversy. In late 2019, some New Zealand and Canadian radio stations re-added Jackson's music to their playlists, citing "positive listener survey results".
On February 21, 2019, the Jackson estate sued HBO for breaching a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 contract. The suit sought to compel HBO to participate in a non-confidential arbitration that could result in $100million or more in damages rewarded to the estate. HBO said they did not breach a contract and filed an anti-SLAPP motion against the estate. In September 2019, Judge George H. Wu denied HBO's motion to dismiss the case, allowing the Jackson estate to arbitrate. HBO appealed, but in December 2020 the appeal court affirmed Judge Wu's ruling.
Legacy
Jackson has been referred to as the "King of Pop" for having transformed the art of music videos and paving the way for modern pop music. For much of Jackson's career, he had an unparalleled worldwide influence over the younger generation. His influence extended beyond the music industry; he impacted dance, led fashion trends, and raised awareness for global affairs. Jackson's music and videos fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster and steered its focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. In songs such as "Man in the Mirror", "Black or White", Heal the World, "Earth Song" and "They Don't Care About Us", Jackson's music emphasized racial integration and environmentalism and protested injustice. He is recognized as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time by Guinness World Records. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, and his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Danyel Smith, chief content officer of Vibe Media Group and the editor-in-chief of Vibe, described Jackson as "the Greatest Star". Steve Huey of AllMusic called him "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". BET said Jackson was "quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" whose "sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artists of all genres".
In 1984, Time pop critic Jay Cocks wrote that "Jackson is the biggest thing since the Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever." He described Jackson as a "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too." In 2003, The Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson as "extremely important" and a "genius". At Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Motown founder Berry Gordy called Jackson "the greatest entertainer that ever lived". In a June 28, 2009 Baltimore Sun article, Jill Rosen wrote that Jackson's legacy influenced fields including sound, dance, fashion, music videos and celebrity.
Pop critic Robert Christgau wrote that Jackson's work from the 1970s to the early 1990s showed "immense originality, adaptability, and ambition" with "genius beats, hooks, arrangements, and vocals (though not lyrics)", music that "will stand forever as a reproach to the puritanical notion that pop music is slick or shallow and that's the end of it". During the 1990s, as Jackson lost control of his "troubling life", his music suffered and began to shape "an arc not merely of promise fulfilled and outlived, but of something approaching tragedy: a phenomenally ebullient child star tops himself like none before, only to transmute audibly into a lost weirdo". In the 2000s, Christgau wrote: "Jackson's obsession with fame, his grotesque life magnified by his grotesque wealth, are such an offense to rock aesthetes that the fact that he's a great musician is now often forgotten".
Artistry
Influences
Jackson was influenced by musicians including James Brown, Little Richard, Jackie Wilson, Diana Ross, Fred Astaire, Sammy Davis Jr., Gene Kelly, and David Ruffin. Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson, but Brown was his greatest inspiration; he later said that as a small child, his mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson described being "mesmerized".
Jackson's vocal technique was influenced by Diana Ross; his use of the oooh interjection from a young age was something Ross had used on many of her songs with the Supremes. She was a mother figure to him, and he often watched her rehearse. He said he had learned a lot from watching how she moved and sang, and that she had encouraged him to have confidence in himself.
Choreographer David Winters, who met Jackson while choreographing the 1971 Diana Ross TV special Diana!, said that Jackson watched the musical West Side Story almost every week, and it was his favorite film; he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.
Vocal style
Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed. Between 1971 and 1975, his voice descended from boy soprano to high tenor. He was known for his vocal range. With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder, and wrote that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly." By the time of 1982's Thriller, Rolling Stone wrote that Jackson was singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".
The turn of the 1990s saw the release of the introspective album Dangerous. The New York Times noted that on some tracks, "he gulps for breath, his voice quivers with anxiety or drops to a desperate whisper, hissing through clenched teeth" and he had a "wretched tone". When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. Of Invincible, Rolling Stone wrote that, at 43, Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies". Joseph Vogel notes Jackson's ability to use non-verbal sounds to express emotion. Neil McCormick wrote that Jackson's unorthodox singing style "was original and utterly distinctive".
Musicianship
Jackson had no formal music training and could not read or write music notation. He is credited for playing guitar, keyboard, and drums, but was not proficient in them. When composing, he recorded ideas by beatboxing and imitating instruments vocally. Describing the process, he said: "I'll just sing the bass part into the tape recorder. I'll take that bass lick and put the chords of the melody over the bass lick and that's what inspires the melody." Engineer Robert Hoffman recalled that after Jackson came in with a song he had written overnight, Jackson sang every note of every chord to a guitar player. Hoffman also remembered Jackson singing string arrangements part by part into a cassette recorder.
Dance
Jackson danced from a young age as part of the Jackson 5, and incorporated dance extensively in his performances and music videos. According to Sanjoy Roy of The Guardian, Jackson would "flick and retract his limbs like switchblades, or snap out of a tornado spin into a perfectly poised toe-stand". The moonwalk, taught to him by Jeffrey Daniel, was Jackson's signature dance move and one of the most famous of the 20th century. Jackson is credited for coining the name "moonwalk"; the move was previously known as the "backslide". His other moves included the robot, crotch grab, and the "anti-gravity" lean of the "Smooth Criminal" video.
Themes and genres
Jackson explored genres including pop, soul, rhythm and blues, funk, rock, disco, post-disco, dance-pop and new jack swing. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful. Its tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature", and "The Girl Is Mine", the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)".
With Off the Wall, Jackson's "vocabulary of grunts, squeals, hiccups, moans, and asides" vividly showed his maturation into an adult, Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). The album's title track suggested to the critic a parallel between Jackson and Stevie Wonder's "oddball" music personas: "Since childhood his main contact with the real world has been on stage and in bed." With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Billie Jean", Jackson depicts an obsessive fan who alleges he has fathered her child, and in "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. "Beat It" decried gang violence in a homage to West Side Story, and was Jackson's first successful rock cross-over piece, according to Huey. He observed that "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover is seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". The lead single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" is a traditional love ballad, and "Man in the Mirror" is a ballad of confession and resolution. "Smooth Criminal" is an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a paradoxical person. The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". It was the first Jackson album in which social ills became a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. Dangerous contains sexually charged songs such as "In the Closet". The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith". In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS.
HIStory creates an atmosphere of paranoia. In the new jack swing-funk rock tracks "Scream" and "Tabloid Junkie", and the R&B ballad "You Are Not Alone", Jackson retaliates against the injustice and isolation he feels, and directs his anger at the media. In the introspective ballad "Stranger in Moscow", Jackson laments his "fall from grace"; "Earth Song", "Childhood", "Little Susie" and "Smile" are operatic pop songs. In "D.S.", Jackson attacks lawyer Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., who had prosecuted him in both child sexual abuse cases; he describes Sneddon as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Invincible includes urban soul tracks such as "Cry" and "The Lost Children", ballads such as "Speechless", "Break of Dawn", and "Butterflies" and mixes hip hop, pop, and R&B in "2000 Watts", "Heartbreaker" and "Invincible".
Music videos and choreography
Jackson released "Thriller", a 14-minute music video directed by John Landis, in 1983. The zombie-themed video "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on MTV, which had launched two years earlier. Before Thriller, Jackson struggled to receive coverage on MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records persuaded MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and later "Beat It", which led to a lengthy partnership with Jackson, and helped other black music artists gain recognition. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped the relatively new channel's viewing figures, and MTV's focus shifted toward pop and R&B. His performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of live stage shows, making it acceptable for artists to lip-sync to music video on stage. The choreography in Thriller has been copied in Indian films and prisons in the Philippines. Thriller marked an increase in scale for music videos, and was named the most successful music video ever by the Guinness World Records.
In "Bad"'s 19-minute video—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson used sexual imagery and choreography, and touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Winfrey in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he said it was spontaneously compelled by the music. Time magazine described the "Bad" video as "infamous". It featured Wesley Snipes; Jackson's later videos often featured famous cameo roles. For the "Smooth Criminal" video, Jackson experimented with leaning forward at a 45 degree angle, beyond the performer's center of gravity. To accomplish this live, Jackson and designers developed a special shoe to lock the performer's feet to the stage, allowing them to lean forward. They were granted for the device. The video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, but in 1989 was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards and won a Golden Lion Award for its special effects. It won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988; in 2001 the award was renamed in his honor. The "Black or White" video simultaneously premiered on November 14, 1991, in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500million people, the largest audience ever for a music video at the time. Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton, and George Wendt. It helped introduce morphing to music videos. It was controversial for scenes in which Jackson rubs his crotch, vandalizes cars, and throws a garbage can through a storefront. He apologized and removed the final scene of the video.
"In the Closet" featured Naomi Campbell in a courtship dance with Jackson. "Remember the Time" was set in ancient Egypt, and featured Eddie Murphy, Iman, and Magic Johnson. The video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, gained a record 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations, and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction". The song and its video are Jackson's response to being accused of child molestation in 1993. A year later, it won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form. It has been reported as the most expensive music video ever made, at $7million; Romanek has contradicted this. The "Earth Song" video was nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Michael Jackson's Ghosts, a short film written by Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston, premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. At over 38 minutes long, it held the Guinness world record for the longest music video until 2013, when it was eclipsed by the video for the Pharrell Williams song "Happy". The 2001 video for "You Rock My World" lasts over 13 minutes, was directed by Paul Hunter, and features Chris Tucker and Marlon Brando. It won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video in 2002.
In December 2009, the Library of Congress selected "Thriller" as the only music video to be preserved in the National Film Registry, as a work of "enduring importance to American culture". Huey wrote that Jackson transformed the music video into an artform and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameos, while breaking down racial barriers.
Honors and awards
Jackson's estimated sales of over 400million records worldwide make him one of the best-selling music artist in history. He had 13 number-one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. He was invited and honored by a President of the United States at the White House three times. In 1984, he was honored with a "Presidential Public Safety Commendation" award by Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian endeavors. In 1990, he was honored as the "Artist of the Decade" by George H. W. Bush. In 1992, he was honored as a "Point of Light Ambassador" by Bush for inviting disadvantaged children to his Neverland Ranch.
He won hundreds of awards, more than any other popular music recording artist. His awards include 39 Guinness World Records, including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards, as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a record 26 American Music Awards, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s". He also received the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as a member of the Jacksons, and in 1984 as a solo artist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Vocal Group Hall of Fame as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and 1999, respectively, and again as a solo artist in 2001. In 2002, he was added to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was the first recording artist to be inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame, and in 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame. In 2021, he was among the inaugural inductees into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
In 1988, Fisk University honored him with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. In 1992, he was invested as a titular king of Sanwi, a traditional kingdom located in the south-east of Ivory Coast. In July 2009, the Lunar Republic Society named a crater on the Moon after Jackson. In August, for what would have been Jackson's 51st birthday, Google dedicated their Google Doodle to him. In 2014, the British Council of Cultural Relations deemed Jackson's life one of the 80 most important cultural moments of the 20th century. World Vitiligo Day has been celebrated on June 25, the anniversary of Jackson's death, to raise awareness of the auto-immune disorder that Jackson suffered from.
Earnings
In 1989, Jackson's annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts were estimated at $125million. Forbes placed Jackson's annual income at $35million in 1996 and $20million in 1997. Estimates of Jackson's net worth during his life range from negative $285million to positive $350million for 2002, 2003 and 2007. Forbes reported in August 2018 that Jackson's total career pretax earnings in life and death were $4.2billion. Sales of his recordings through Sony's music unit earned him an estimated $300million in royalties. He may have earned another $400million from concerts, music publishing (including his share of the Beatles catalog), endorsements, merchandising and music videos.
In 2013, the executors of Jackson's estate filed a petition in the United States Tax Court as a result of a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over US federal estate taxes. The executors claim that it was worth about $7million, the IRS that it was worth over $1.1billion. In February 2014, the IRS reported that Jackson's estate owed $702million; $505million in taxes, and $197million in penalties. A trial was held from February 6 to 24, 2017. In 2021, the Tax Court issued a ruling in favor of the estate, ruling that the estate's total combined value of the estate was $111.5 million and that the value of Jackson's name and likeness was $4 million (not the $61 million estimated by the IRS's outside expert witness).
In 2016, Forbes estimated annual gross earnings by the Jackson Estate at $825million, the largest ever recorded for a celebrity, mostly due to the sale of the Sony/ATV catalog. In 2018, the figure was $400million. It was the eighth year since his death that Jackson's annual earnings were reported to be over $100million, thus bringing Jackson's postmortem total to $2.4billion. In 2020, Forbes recognized Jackson as the top-earning dead celebrity each year since his death except 2012.
Discography
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music & Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)
Invincible (2001)
Filmography
The Wiz (1978)
Captain EO (1986)
Moonwalker (1988)
Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
Men in Black II (2002)
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004)
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
Bad 25 (2012)
Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall (2016)
Tours
Bad (1987–1989)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–1993)
HIStory World Tour (1996–1997)
MJ & Friends (1999)
Notes
References
Citations
Print sources
Further reading
External links
Michael Jackson at the FBI's website
1958 births
2009 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American singers
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American singers
Accidental deaths in California
African-American businesspeople
African-American choreographers
African-American male dancers
African-American male singers
African-American record producers
African-American rock singers
African-American songwriters
American beatboxers
American child singers
American choreographers
American contemporary R&B singers
American dance musicians
American disco singers
American expatriates in Ireland
American funk singers
American humanitarians
American male dancers
American male pop singers
American male singers
American male songwriters
American manslaughter victims
American multi-instrumentalists
American nonprofit businesspeople
American philanthropists
American pop rock singers
American rhythm and blues singers
American rock singers
American rock songwriters
American soul singers
American tenors
Boy sopranos
Brit Award winners
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Businesspeople from California
Businesspeople from Indiana
Child pop musicians
Culture of Gary, Indiana
Dance-pop musicians
Dancers from California
Dancers from Indiana
Drug-related deaths in California
Epic Records artists
Former Jehovah's Witnesses
Grammy Award winners
Grammy Legend Award winners
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
History of Gary, Indiana
Michael Jackson
Modern dancers
Motown artists
MTV Europe Music Award winners
Music video codirectors
Musicians from Gary, Indiana
New jack swing musicians
People acquitted of sex crimes
People from Santa Barbara County, California
People from Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
People with lupus
People with vitiligo
Post-disco musicians
Record producers from California
Record producers from Indiana
Singers from California
Singers from Indiana
Songwriters from California
Songwriters from Indiana
The Jackson 5 members
World Music Awards winners
World record holders
Writers from California
Writers from Gary, Indiana
| false |
[
"Jesse Delbert Daniels (September 25, 1938 – June 21, 2018) was a disabled Florida man who was held in the Florida State Hospital for 14 years without ever standing trial after being accused of raping a woman in Tavares, Florida and being declared unfit to stand trial. Judge Truman Futch, who was also involved in the Groveland Four trial and who denied an effort to prosecute Sheriff Willis McCall after he shot two of the accused during an alleged escape attempt while they were handcuffed together and being transported in the sheriff's custody. Daniels was held at Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee. Author Gilbert King wrote the book Beneath a Ruthless Sun about the events.\n\nDaniels was born in Leesburg, Florida.\n\nJournalist Mabel Norris Reese helped bring attention to his case and lawyer Richard Graham worked pro bono on appeals that eventually resulted in his being freed. He was compensated $75,000. After his release, he worked as an assistant cook at a hotel where his mother was a maid and did odd jobs. He rode a bicycle in Daytona Beach and enjoyed old country songs and playing guitar.\n\nReferences\n\n1938 births\n2018 deaths\nAmerican people with disabilities\nPeople from Leesburg, Florida",
"Antejuramentum, and præjuramentum, historically called juramentum calumniæ (literally, \"oath to accuse falsely\"), is an oath which both the accuser and accused were obliged to make before any trial or purgation. The accuser was to swear that he would prosecute the criminal, and the accused was to make oath on the very day that he was to undergo the ordeal, that he was innocent of the claims of which he was charged. If the accuser failed, the criminal was discharged. If the accused failed, he was intended to be guilty, and was not to be admitted to purge himself by the ordeal (see: combat, duel, etc.).\n\nSee also\n\n Calumny\n Trial by combat\n Trial by ordeal\n\nReferences\n\nLegal history\nOaths"
] |
[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power"
] |
C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
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When did the Spice Girls become popular?
| 1 |
When did the Spice Girls become popular?
|
Spice Girls
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The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness.
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
| false |
[
"The Spice Girls are an English pop girl group that first came to international prominence in 1996 with the release of their debut single \"Wannabe\". The following year, they became involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon, leading to an unprecedented number of Spice Girls merchandise and sponsorship deals. With their name attached to numerous sponsors including Pepsi, Cadbury and Polaroid, and the official Spice Girls branding on hundreds of different product tie-ins, they quickly became the most merchandised group in music history. Their global merchandising efforts alone brought in over £300 million in 1997, while the group's total grosses were estimated at US$500–800 million by May 1998.\n\nIndustry pundits attribute much of the brand's success to the group's longtime manager Simon Fuller. By the end of 1997, however, the overwhelming number of Spice Girls merchandise and sponsorship deals led to a public and media backlash. The group responded by firing Fuller and slowing down, but not stopping, their marketing pursuits. They eventually disbanded in 2000, but the marketing phenomenon they created in the 1990s has had a lasting influence on the modern music industry.\n\nHistory\n\n1997: Unprecedented merchandising\nOff the back of their record-breaking debut album Spice, the Spice Girls began signing many lucrative merchandising and endorsement deals.\n\nIn February 1997, the Spice Girls were booked to help launch the West McLaren Mercedes MP4/12 at London's Alexandra Palace. They performed \"Wannabe\", \"Say You'll Be There\" and \"Who Do You Think You Are\" to an assembled audience of five thousand, comprising media, sponsors, VIP guests and fans. The event was filmed by MTV and presented by Davina McCall. In March, Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book was launched at the Virgin Megastore; it sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. Later that month, the group were booked to launch Britain's fifth terrestrial television network, Channel 5, for a reported fee of £500,000. They appeared in promotional print ads, recorded a song (\"1,2,3,4,5!\") and filmed a music video that became the network's first broadcast programme. The launch was watched by 2.49 million viewers. During this time, the group also launched Spice, the quarterly Spice Girls fanclub magazine. In April, One Hour of Girl Power, an official Spice Girls VHS documentary, was released; it sold almost 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever.\n\nIn early 1997, the Spice Girls signed a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with PepsiCo to launch the soft drink company's Generation Next campaign. 92 million promotional Pepsi cans and bottles featuring the Spice Girls individually and as a group were produced worldwide. Promotional giveaways included collectible drinking glasses and two limited edition music singles, \"Step to Me\" and \"Move Over (Generation Next)\". These promotional offers for the group's singles were the first of their kind in the music industry. Around 600,000 copies of the \"Step to Me\" single were redeemed via the Pepsi offer, making it \"the most successful on-pack promotion in the history of the U.K. soft-drink market.\" The group also starred in three television adverts for Pepsi, all featuring the song \"Move Over\", that were aired on TV and in cinemas in 93 countries. In October 1997, the group performed two live concerts in Istanbul sponsored by the soft drink company; tickets for the concerts were available exclusively through a Pepsi offer, causing the UK sales of Pepsi to increase by 30% during this one-week promotion. The Spice Girls' \"Generation Next\" campaign led to a record five percent gain in the cola market share for Pepsi in 1997 and the endorsement deal was extended in November 1997 for an additional £500,000. In a 2014 interview with BBC Radio 2, the group's longtime manager Simon Fuller claimed that Pepsi spent around $100 million on the Spice Girls' endorsement campaign.\n\nBy June 1997, it was reported that the Spice Girls had applied for more than 100 trademarks. The following month, the group began an endorsement deal with Walkers Crisps to launch their \"Cheese & Chives\" flavour. The Spice Girls were featured on various crisps packets individually and as a group. They also starred in two television adverts alongside Gary Lineker and a number of promotional photoshoots for the British potato chip maker. The Spice Girls campaign was Walkers' \"biggest ever promotional effort\"; the company reported a six percent increase in their brand's volume share of the crisp market within the first eight weeks of the campaign, and had sold 16 million packs of their Spice Girls crisps by October that year. In the summer of 1997, the toy company Magic Box Toys created the first Spice Girls collectible photo album and trading card series. It was estimated by Forbes that 25 million cards had been sold by September 1997. Later, a second photocard series was released, along with an official Spice World: The Movie sticker book. During this time, Polaroid also signed a deal with the group to produce various Spice Girls-branded products including the Spice Cam, a variation on the original Polaroid 600 Instant Camera and Polaroid's first camera to be named after a group or person, that was marketed in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. The group filmed adverts and conducted a number of promotional photoshoots for the Spice Cam. In August 1997, the Spice Girls teamed up with Impulse to launch a fragrance known as \"Impulse Spice\", with a scent that was meant to reflect each individual member of the band. Limited edition deodorant body spray and shower gel products were produced. A£1.8 million advertising campaign accompanied the Impulse Spice launch, including a television advert the group filmed for the product. The Spice Girls' fragrance was sold in 50 countries and quickly became Impulse's \"most successful variant ever.\" During this time, the Spice Girls also signed up for product tie-ins with Benetton, Zeon watches (Spice Girls-themed watches and clocks), British Telecom (Spice Girls-themed phonecards) and Elisabeth the Chef (Spice Girls-themed cakes).\n\nIn September 1997, British supermarket chain Asda signed a £1 million merchandising deal to launch a wide range of Spice Girls products for the 1997 Christmas season. Over 40 different Spice Girls-branded goods were stocked including food, clothing, gifts, stationery, party supplies, Christmas crackers, individual pizzas with each band member representing a different flavour, homewear, books, videos, platform shoes and even Spice Girls-branded Kids Meals Boxes in the stores' restaurants. The deal was promoted in Asda's pre-Christmas television and print advertising campaign. That same month, it was announced that the Spice Girls had signed a licensing deal with merchandising company PMS International to produce a wide range of official Spice Girls products. Over 200 separate Spice Girls items were released including stationery, toys, lunch boxes, bags, purses, party goods, clothing, mugs, cosmetics, postcards, picture frames, keyrings and badges, all in the Spice Girls official colours of magenta and white. Upon the release of Spice World, movie memorabilia was also produced, including toy versions of the Spice Bus. In October 1997, Cadbury signed a deal with the band to release a range of Spice Girls-branded chocolate products. The range consisted of 10 chocolate countlines, assorted boxes and holiday confectioneries including Easter eggs, featuring the Spice Girls individually or as a group. In the same month, it was announced that the Spice Girls had signed a deal with Chupa Chups to release a range of Spice Girls products, including different tins filled with assorted lollipops featuring each girl, \"Fantasy Ball\" Chupa Chups with different packages each featuring a collectible Spice Girl sticker, \"Push Pops\", \"Crazy Dips\", toy microphones and bubblegum packets that came with collectible Spice Girls temporary tattoos. The band also signed a merchandising and distribution deal with American retailer Target. The discount store retailer was one of the largest suppliers of official Spice Girls merchandise in the United States and Australia, devoting aisles to Spice Girls products such as bikes, school supplies, party supplies, and toys. The Spice Girls were also sponsored by shoe brands Shellys London and Buffalo, and launched an official shoe line for adults and children.\n\nIn December 1997, the first series of official Spice Girls dolls by toy company Galoob (now Hasbro) was released, with subsequent series released in 1998 and 1999. The dolls became a huge hit during the 1997 and 1998 Christmas seasons, selling over 11 million to become the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time. The dolls were the fifth best-selling toy—despite limited stock—in the UK for the 1997 Christmas season according to the British Association of Toy Retailers' annual Christmas best seller chart, and the second best-selling toy of 1998 in the United States according to toy trade publication Playthings annual industry survey.\n\nBy the end of 1997, the Spice Girls had become a \"formidable money making machine\", estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) that year from their marketing endeavours. The Spice Girls brand was named one of 1997's best brands in Advertising Ages annual \"Top Marketing 100\" list. Some analysts cautioned of a brand \"overkill\", with The Independents Paul McCann warning that the \"endless exploitation of the band's name signals the beginning of the end for the Spice phenomenon.\" At this point, the Spice Girls themselves had reportedly grown weary of the \"endless\" corporate obligations and fired their manager Simon Fuller.\n\n1998–2000: Continued success and hiatus\nThe group started off 1998 by hiring KLP Euro RSCG as their new commercial agent and Big Tours as their licensing and merchandising agent. Under KLP, they adopted a new marketing strategy which saw them slow down their marketing efforts, reportedly turning down numerous sponsorship offers from this point on.\n\nIn early 1998, the Spice Girls signed a sponsorship deal for the European leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour with Italian scooter maker Aprilia. As part of the deal, five different \"Spice Sonic\" scooters—each promoting a Spice Girl—were created and marketed. The group also participated in a promotional photoshoot and filmed a television advert to promote the scooters. However, relations soured between the group and the Italian company after Halliwell's sudden departure in May 1998. In January 2002, after losing a long-running legal dispute in Spice Girls Ltd v Aprilia World Service BV, the group was ordered to pay $67,000 for scooters Aprilia supplied to the band members, in addition to damages and legal costs.\n\nSpice World, a video game featuring computer-animated cartoons of the Spice Girls, was developed and released by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for the PlayStation in 1998. The video game was sold out in the UK within several months of its release. The Spice Girls also endorsed the sugar brand Domino Sugar in a promotional photoshoot. By May 1998, the band had become a \"$500 million merchandising and marketing industry\" according to CNN, while Entertainment Weekly placed their global gross income up to that point at $500–800 million.\n\nThe Spice Girls embarked on the North American leg of their Spiceworld Tour in June 1998. Throughout this leg of the tour, commercials for their sponsors, including Revlon, Pepsi, Biore and Domino Sugar, were played on the large concert screens before the shows and during intermissions. It was the first time advertising had been used in pop concerts and was met with mixed reactions in the music industry, with Jon Pareles of The New York Times dubbing the band forerunners of \"buy-me feminism\". Nevertheless, it opened up a whole new concert revenue stream, with music industry pundits predicting more acts would follow the Spice Girls' lead.\n\nLeading up to the Christmas season, bicycle company PTI Holding Inc. signed an exclusive agreement in August 1998 to manufacture and distribute Spice Girls-branded bicycles, helmets, in-line skates and bicycle accessory products for North America. The company received over $3 million in pre-order commitments on the day the deal was announced, and began shipping products towards the end of the year. Around the same time, toymaker Toymax introduced new lines of licensed Spice Girls dolls, toys, accessories and youth electronics. In November 1998, a new line of official Spice Girls bean bag dolls and collectibles were put on the market by Bravado International Group.\n\nIn May 1999, the Spice Girls ranked sixth in Forbes inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which ranks celebrities based on their brand power.\n\nIn December 2000, the group went on an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers.\n\n2007–08: First reunion\nThe Spice Girls reunited for a concert tour in 2007 to 2008. In October 2007, it was announced that the Spice Girls had signed a deal with lingerie chain Victoria's Secret. Under the deal, the group's greatest hits album was exclusively sold in the United States through Victoria's Secret for the first two months of its release. The group also performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show later that year. British supermarket chain Tesco also recruited the Spice Girls to front a two-part Christmas television ad campaign in 2007, in a deal that reportedly earned each girl £1 million.\n\n2019: Second reunion \nOn 30 April 2019, the group teamed up with the famous children's book franchise Mr. Men, to create many derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters.\n\nIn conjunction with the beginning of the Spice World – 2019 Tour, the Spice Girls launched an advertising campaign with Walkers who they'd previously worked with in the 1990s. The campaign was to find their \"Best Ever Fan\" and included Spice Girls branded products in supermarkets to promote their \"best ever\" Cheese & Onion flavouring and a television advertisement which was premiered during a commercial break for 2019's Britain's Got Talent semi-finals. The \"best ever fan\" would receive the chance to meet the Spice Girls on a date of their tour.\n\nBrand appeal and strategy\nAt the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were extremely popular with the tween demographic as well as the mothers of their young fans. Their image was considered young, fun and exciting, providing companies with a way of breaking into new markets that involved pre-teens and women. According to trade magazine Brandweeks Danny Rogers, much of the success of the Spice Girls brand was down to good timing. He noted that the band \"struck a chord at a time when corporate marketers had been searching for solid points of pop-cultural interface with pre-teen and young teen girls.\" Marc Greengrass, account director for the advertising agency Gepetto, added: \"They have also appeared at a time when there is a distinct lack of female heroines for this age group and [they] use a terrific message: total empowerment.\" Rogers highlighted the Spice World video game which was purchased mostly by \"mothers and daughters\", thus expanding Sony PlayStation's reach beyond the young male demographic that heavily dominated the video game market at the time. Similarly, cosmetics brand Fabergé wanted to capitalise on the \"girl power\" trend and saw Impulse Spice as \"a rare opportunity to appeal to the 13-plus age group\". The group's distinctive personas (Ginger, Scary, Baby, Sporty and Posh) also bolstered their appeal to advertisers, allowing brands to personalise their products to each identity.\n\nCommentators often attribute the Spice Girls' vast marketing and merchandising efforts to their longtime manager Simon Fuller, dubbed \"Svengali Spice\" by the press. In 1997, Fuller was selected as one of Advertising Ages annual \"Marketing 100\" honorees, which awards 100 individuals for excellence in brand building. Fuller later explained in Wannabe: How The Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004): \n\nGerrard Tyrrell, Fuller's \"right-hand man\", added that these product tie-ins were the key to making the Spice Girls famous worldwide, especially outside of the US and UK where their record label did not have as much reach. The group gained massive international exposure by putting their name on products that were already popular in a particular territory, such as Chupa Chup lollipops in Spain and Pepsi in Southeast Asia.\n\nBacklash and criticism\nThe volume and nature of the product tie-ins and commercial sponsorships at the height of the Spice Girls phenomenon began to tarnish the band's image. During the summer of 1997, the group was criticised for \"selling out\" to worldwide brands, being accused of overexposure and signing too many sponsorship contracts with large corporate businesses. According to Rolling Stones David Sinclair, \"So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group.\"\n\nMarket research at the height of Spicemania found that consumers could no longer keep track of the many products the group was putting their name on. Meanwhile, a national survey in October 1997 found that two-thirds of people in Britain believed the group to be over-exposed. Commentators opined that the band's music seemed like an afterthought, instead, Newsweek wrote, \"the girls' main focus seems to be collecting huge fees for their advertising deals\". British music journalist Neil McCormick found that the group's marketing pursuits had seeped into their music, describing their second studio album Spiceworld as \"a marketing person's idea of what a pop record should sound like, filled with buzzwords masquerading as lyrics and melodies that are memorable only because you have heard them so many times before.\" Slates David Plotz noted that other music stars have had spinoff merchandise in the past, but never anything on the Spice Girls' scale. \"Life is different in Spiceworld,\" he explained, \"If there is a product that 12-year-olds use, there will be a Spice Girls version of it in your mall by Thanksgiving.\"\n\nLegacy and impact\nIn his analysis of the group's lasting influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC News noted that while other celebrities had used brand endorsements in the past, \"the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band\". Music Week credited Fuller's \"ground-breaking\" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry and \"paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones.\" According to the trade magazine, it was due to the \"remarkable\" impact of the Spice Girls that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: \"[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since.\"\n\nIn a 2016 Vice op-ed, Tara Joshi acknowledged that \"[a]s the Spice Girls’ reign went on, they seemed to become less of a musical entity and more and more of an overt marketing tool, with Pepsi, Walkers, Polaroid, Barbie and more scoring very lucrative deals with them\". However, she went on to argue that it is this merchandising success that \"reinforce[s] the pop cultural phenomenon they had bestowed upon the British music industry and the world.\" Joshi concludes that a \"pop act having this much sway in the products people were buying was unprecedented – on that scale, it seems unlikely to ever be repeated\".\n\nSince 2008, \"Spiceworld: The Exhibition\", a collection of over 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been showcased in museums across the UK, including the Leeds City Museum in 2011, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery in 2012, Tower Museum in 2012, Ripley's Believe It or Not! London and Blackpool museums in 2015 and 2016, and the Watford Colosseum in 2016. The collection is owned by Liz West, the Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of Spice Girls memorabilia. \"The Spice Girls Exhibition\", a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016.\n\nSee also\n Spice Girls filmography\n\nReferences\n\nCitations\n\nBook references\n\nFurther reading\n The A.V. Club (2016) The Spice Girls were as much merchandising scheme as girl group\n Spice Girls Collection (Official website of Spiceworld: The Exhibition)\n The SPICE GIRLS Exhibition (Official website of The Spice Girls Exhibition in Limassol Marina – Cyprus\n BuzzFeed (2013) 27 Pieces Of Spice Girls Merch You Wish You Still Had\n Glamour UK (2016) 15 of the best Spice Girl products ever\n\nSpice Girls\nMerchandise",
"Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story is a 1999 film documenting British girl group the Spice Girls on the American leg of their Spiceworld Tour.\n\nRelease \nThe film was purchased by Channel 4 in May 1999, and premiered on 6 June 1999.\n\nCritical response \nJohn Dingwall of the Daily Record found the film to be a \"dull-as-dishwater look at life on the road with Britain's top-selling band.\" Stephen Pile of The Daily Telegraph similarly did not like the film, particularly what he saw as the \"general wall-to-wall whingeing\" of the band members.\n\nSee also\n Spice Girls filmography\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1999 television films\n1999 films\nBritish documentary films\nWorks about the Spice Girls\nDocumentary films about entertainers\n1999 documentary films\nDocumentary films about women"
] |
[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power",
"When did the Spice Girls become popular?",
"the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with \"Wannabe\", that the concept of \"girl power\" exploded onto the common consciousness."
] |
C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
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What is girl power?
| 2 |
What is girl power in relation to the Spice Girls?
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Spice Girls
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The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
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"Power Girl, also known as Kara Zor-L and Karen Starr, is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 (January/February 1976). Power Girl is the cousin of DC's flagship hero Superman, but from an alternative universe in the fictional multiverse in which DC Comics stories are set. Originally hailing from the world of Earth-Two, first envisioned as the home of DC's wartime heroes as published in 1940s comic books, Power Girl becomes stranded in the main universe where DC stories are set, and becomes acquainted with that world's Superman and her own counterpart, Supergirl.\n\nIn common with Supergirl's origin story, she is the daughter of Superman's aunt and uncle and a native of the planet Krypton. The infant Power Girl's parents enabled her to escape the destruction of her home planet by placing her in a rocket ship. Although she left the planet at the same time that Superman did, her ship took much longer to reach Earth-Two. On Earth, as with other Kryptonians, Power Girl discovered she possessed abilities like super strength, flight, and heat vision, using which she became a protector of innocents and a hero for humanity. Though the specifics of how vary over subsequent retellings, Power Girl is later stranded on another Earth when a cosmic crisis affects her home of Earth-Two, and later carves out a separate identity for herself from her dimensional counterpart Supergirl once they are forced to coexist.\n\nThough they are biologically the same person, Power Girl behaves as an older, more mature, and more level-headed version of Supergirl, with a more aggressive fighting style. She also adopts a different secret identity from her counterpart. These changes are reflected in their differing costumes and superhero names as well; Power Girl sports a bob of blond hair; wears a distinctive white, red, and blue costume with a cleavage-displaying cutout. The name Power Girl reflects that she chooses not to be seen as a derivative of Superman, but rather her own hero and this choice is reflected in the strong independent attitude of the character. Over various decades, Power Girl has been depicted as a member of superhero teams such as the Justice Society of America, Infinity, Inc., Justice League Europe, and the Birds of Prey.\n\nPower Girl's origin has gone through revisions, but over time has reverted to her original conception as the Supergirl of Earth-Two. The 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths eliminated Earth-Two from history, causing her to be retconned as the granddaughter of an Atlantean sorcerer known as Arion. This was an unpopular change and writers depicted the revised Power Girl inconsistently. The 2005–2006 Infinite Crisis limited series then restored her status as a refugee from the Krypton of the destroyed Pre-Crisis Earth-Two universe. Following DC's 2011 \"Flashpoint\" storyline and New 52 reboot, Power Girl's origin was retold as the Supergirl of \"Earth 2\", cousin and adopted daughter of Superman, who during evil Fourth World New God Darkseid's invasion of Earth 2 becomes stranded in the main continuity of Earth 0, subsequently adopting the name Power Girl to hide her true identity. She returned to her source Earth in the story Earth 2: World's End (2014–2015).\n\nPublication history\nPower Girl was introduced in All Star Comics #58 in 1976, and was a member of the superhero team the Justice Society of America through the remainder of the 1970s and 1980s period known as the Bronze Age of Comics. Marvel Comics' then-publisher Stan Lee said in 1978 that when DC Comics created Power Girl after Marvel had introduced Power Man, \"I'm pretty annoyed about that. ...I've got to ask the Marvel lawyer – she's supposed to be starting a lawsuit about that and I haven't heard anything. I don't like the idea. ... You know, years ago we brought out Wonder Man, and [DC Comics] sued us because they had Wonder Woman, and ... I said okay, I'll discontinue Wonder Man. And all of a sudden they've got Power Girl. Oh, boy. How unfair.\" Ironically, Marvel had previously published Thor #207, written by Power Girl co-creator Gerry Conway, in which Len Wein's character says, \"Whoever heard of Powergirl, anyhow?\"\n\nAfter All Star Comics was canceled as a part of the DC Implosion, the character would continue to appear along with the rest of the JSA in Adventure Comics for a six-issue run. Due in part to her being one of the more popular characters in All Star Comics at the time, she was given a solo tryout in Showcase issues 97–99, which expanded on her pre-Crisis origin. During this time, she was a regularly featured character in the annual Justice Society crossovers in the original Justice League of America series. She was a founding member of Infinity Inc., appearing in each of the first 12 issues and making later guest appearances.\n\nAfter DC's continuity-altering Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline, her origin was retconned in Secret Origins (vol. 2) #11 and she became a magic-based character with ties to ancient Atlantis, leading to appearances in The Warlord. The character did not receive her own self-titled series until the Power Girl miniseries of 1988. The character became a featured member of Justice League Europe (a spin off from Justice League International) for the run of the series. After the cancellation of JLI, the character joined Chris Claremont's creator-owned series Sovereign Seven and appeared in several issues of Birds of Prey. She eventually rejoined the Justice Society in JSA #31 and became a regular part of that series and its follow-up, Justice Society of America vol. 3.\n\nPower Girl played a significant role in the continuity-changing events of Infinite Crisis (2005), which tied into her starring role in the first JSA Classified story arc \"Power Trip\" in 2005 (issues #1–4 of the series). These stories heavily featured the revelation that Power Girl was in fact the Earth-Two Power Girl and a Kryptonian, who survived Crisis, and that her Atlantean backstory had been a lie. Starting in July 2009, Power Girl received her first ongoing series, simply titled Power Girl (vol. 2), with the first twelve issues written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, drawn by Amanda Conner, and colored by Paul Mounts. According to Comic Book Resources, the series has been \"wildly praised for its fresh and fun approach.\"\n\nWhen Palmiotti, Grey and Conner left the series after issue #12, Palmiotti said, \"Amanda always said she could just commit to the book for a year, and as we got into the series we realized that we just couldn't do the same type of book with another artist at this point and decided it was a good idea to leave with her and give another team a shot.\" Judd Winick took over as writer with artist Sami Basri beginning with issue #13. Winick stated that the tone of the book will continue, and the premise of the character in New York.\n\nThe trade paperback \"Power Girl\" () collects Showcase issues #97–99, Secret Origins (vol. 2) issue #11, JSA issues 32 and 39, and JSA Classified issues #1–4. \"Power Girl: A New Beginning\" () collects the first six issues of the 2009 series. \"Power Girl: Aliens & Apes\" () collects issues 7 through 12, and \"Power Girl: Bomb Squad\" () covers 13 to 18, and \"Power Girl: Old Friends\" collecting issues 19-27.\n\nThe entirety of the Palmiotti/Grey/Conner run is contained in \"Power Girl: Power Trip\" () which collects JSA Classified #1–4 and Power Girl #1–12.\n\nFictional character biography\n\nJourney from Krypton-Two\nKara's father discovers that Krypton is about to explode, and places her in a spacecraft directed towards the Earth. Although this occurs at the same time that Kal-L's ship is launched, Kara's ship travels more slowly, and she arrives on Earth decades after her cousin has landed. Kara’s Symbioship is designed to keep her in stasis during the journey and provide her with life experiences and education in the form of virtual reality. The Symbioship allows her to interact with virtual copies of her parents and fellow Kryptonians. Originally, by the time she arrives on Earth, Kara is shown to be in her early twenties. However, as mentioned in JSA Classified #1, her age at arrival has now been retconned to about eighteen in post-Crisis continuity.\n\nIn Showcase #97, Kara is reclaimed by the sentient Symbioship and reimmersed into Kandorian society for a time. Several years of virtual time elapse, in which Kara is married and has a child. She is freed with the assistance of newspaper reporter Andrew Vinson, at which point she disables the ship.\n\nDebut\nPower Girl's existence is not revealed to the general public until much later; her cousin Clark and his wife Lois Lane provide her a family environment to assist her transition towards real life relationships. In her first recorded adventure, Kara assists Justice Society members Flash and Wildcat with containing an artificially induced volcanic eruption in China. She then joins Robin and Star-Spangled Kid to form a Super Squad to assist the Justice Society in defeating Brainwave and Per Degaton, who were causing disasters around the world. She pushes their base towards the Sun, the heat causing the villains to fall unconscious. Later, she becomes a full member of the Society when Superman retires from active membership.\n\nHaving been raised by the Symbioship with artificial Kryptonian life experiences, Power Girl finds it difficult to adapt to life on Earth. However, with the help of reporter Andrew Vinson, she adopts the secret identity of computer programmer Karen Starr (she obtains her knowledge in this field from exposure to Wonder Woman's Purple Ray on Paradise Island). On the pre-Crisis Earth-Two, Power Girl's closest friend is the Huntress, the daughter of the Earth-Two Batman and Catwoman.\n\nThe first contact between Power Girl and Earth-One's universe was on the crossover Justice League of America #147, written by Paul Levitz & Martin Pasko, where the character shows her attraction to that reality saying, \"It has a much nicer brand of Superman, y'know?\".\n\nAtlantean\nThe 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series erased the existence of the Earth-Two Superman, and Power Girl's continuity was thus substantially disrupted. Initially she believed herself to be Superman's cousin, as she had been before the reboot. However, her background was retconned; she was told that she was the descendant of the Atlantean sorcerer Arion, and was frozen in suspended animation for millennia until the present day.\n\nAfter the Justice Society disbands, Power Girl would join the Justice League. Later, while a member of Justice League Europe, she suffers a near fatal injury while battling a mystical being. Superman must assist in her medical treatment, using his heat-vision to perform surgery on her otherwise-invulnerable tissues. Although she recovers, Power Girl is significantly weaker, as she lost her vision powers and could not fly for a time. However, she regained them all as time went on. Power Girl adopts a one-eyed mangy cat, an animal which would affect much of the team. One aspect of this is her beloved cat is used to spy on the group by intelligence gathering criminals.\n\nDuring the 1994 Zero Hour event, Power Girl experiences a mystical pregnancy and gives birth to a son (supposedly named Equinox), who ages rapidly. Finally he disappears, and has never been mentioned again in DCU.\n\nPower Girl appeared in later issues of the Sovereign Seven series, Chris Claremont's creator-owned comic book for DC. However, the final issue revealed that the entire series had been a story appearing in a comic book, and events in the book have had no bearing upon DC continuity.\n\nPower Girl was one of Oracle’s first agents. Their short-lived partnership ended after a disastrous mission which resulted in a large loss of life. Power Girl believes that Oracle's poor leadership was responsible for the tragedy, being disgusted that Oracle would sacrifice hundreds of lives & herself following orders. Although she has worked with her again on a few occasions when needed, the relationship between the two is tense. In Birds of Prey #35, Power Girl admitted that she is primarily to blame for the tension, but is unable to overcome the memories of the deaths.\n\nPower Girl is a key member of the Justice Society, which she joined when it was reformed in the late 1990s. During an adventure with the JSA, she meets Arion, who reveals her Atlantean heritage to be a lie he concocted at the behest of Power Girl's \"mother\".\n\nWhile attempting to save her teammate Ted Grant from the new female Crimson Avenger, Power Girl is severely wounded by supernatural bullets fired from the vigilante's cursed handguns. Despite being saved by Doctor Mid-Nite, Power Girl comments that her near-death experience has shown her that she needs to make more personal connections outside of the superhero community.\n\nInfinite Crisis\n\nJSA Classified: Power Trip\n\nThe Psycho-Pirate shows Kara multiple versions of her origin in an effort to drive her insane. Eventually, he reveals the truth: Power Girl is a survivor of Krypton from the dimension which contained the pre-Crisis Earth-Two.\n\nThe other survivors\nIn the \"Infinite Crisis\" storyline, Kal-L himself returns to the post-Crisis DC Universe after breaking down the walls of the paradise dimension in which he, Lois Lane Kent (of Earth-Two), Alexander Luthor, Jr. (of Earth-Three), and Superboy-Prime (of Earth-Prime) had been living since the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths. Appalled by the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs on the contemporary Earth, their goal is to replace the post-Crisis Earth with a recreated Earth-Two. Kal-L's first order of business is to track down Power Girl and explain the events of the original Crisis to her. Kal-L also reiterates her pre-Crisis history as his cousin. A touch from the ailing Lois of Earth-Two inexplicably restores Power Girl's memories of pre-Crisis Earth-Two.\n\nSoon after this revelation, Power Girl is confronted by Superboy-Prime, who renders her unconscious. She is attached to a ”tuning fork”, a device controlled by Alex Luthor whose purpose is to bring back the multiple Earths. Alex Luthor and Psycho Pirate coerce Black Adam (who is also attached to the machine) into saying \"SHAZAM!\", and use the now-raw magical energy to power the tower. After the reappearance of the created Earth-Two, everyone associated with that Earth is transported onto it (although Power Girl remains on New Earth because of her proximity to the tower).\n\nAfter being brought to the barren created Earth-Two by Kal-L, Lois Lane Kent collapses and dies. A violent confrontation between the two Supermen ensues, at the end of which Kal-L comes to the realization that this created Earth-Two had not been a perfect world, since \"a perfect earth doesn't need a Superman.\"\n\nPower Girl is freed by Wonder Girl and Kon-El, and joins them in fighting Superboy-Prime and Alex Luthor. During a savage battle on Mogo, Superboy-Prime beats Kal-L to death and is later subdued by Kal-El. Power Girl is brought to Mogo by the Green Lantern Corps just in time to bid a tearful farewell to her dying cousin.\n\n\"One Year Later\"\nIn the \"One Year Later\" storyline in Supergirl, Kara takes up the mantle of Nightwing in an attempt to free the natives of Kandor. Ultraman, masquerading as Kal-El and working in concert with the Saturn Queen, has taken control of the bottle city. Kara Zor-El is the city's Flamebird; she prevents Ultraman's forces from executing the captured Power Girl. Power Girl is forced to leave Kandor with Kara (against her better judgment) after Saturn Queen reveals to Supergirl information about Supergirl's past and purpose. This causes another rift to grow between the two women, as Power Girl feels Supergirl left an entire city of people to suffer, all because of her own selfish desires. This animosity is still on display when she next encounters Supergirl.\n\nPower Girl remains a core member of the Justice Society. Power Girl is selected as the chairwoman of the team after Mr. Terrific steps down.\n\nPower Girl is invited to rejoin Oracle's Birds of Prey, but refuses, stating that she would do so only \"when Hell freezes over\". Her ill will toward Oracle is the result of a single mission in which she served as one of Oracle's agents, which ended badly. However, Power Girl does come to Oracle's aid against the Spy Smasher in Birds of Prey #108.\n\nThe appearance of the Earth-22 Superman (and his resemblance to Kal-L) upsets Kara greatly when he first arrives on New Earth. However, they adopt each other as family after a period of time.\n\nFollowing the events of Infinite Crisis, a new Multiverse is created. Among them is an Earth-2 from which its Power Girl and Superman are both missing. The Power Girl of this Earth returns to Earth-2 after failing to find her cousin. The Power Girl of New Earth is accidentally sent to the pre-Crisis Earth-2 by the Third World god Gog.\n\nThe Power Girl of New Earth faces off against the Power Girl and Justice Society Infinity of the new Earth-2, due to the Earth-2 Power Girl's grief and rage over the loss of her cousin prompting her to believe that the 'other' Power Girl is an impostor with some role in Superman's absence. Power Girl returns to New Earth with the help of the Earth-2 Michael Holt, until the Justice Society Infinity follow her and take her back to Earth-2, where it is revealed that the recreation of the Multiverse created a new Earth-2 and duplicates of its heroes, including its own Power Girl. The Power Girl of New Earth then returns home with the JSA.\n\nSolo series and All-Stars\nPower Girl briefly appears in the Final Crisis crossover event, battling the forces of Darkseid after he conquers the Earth using the Anti-Life Equation.\n\nAfter deciding to once again use the Karen Starr identity, she moves to New York City and begins rebuilding Starr Enterprises while continuing solo superheroics. She eventually takes teenaged hero-in-training Terra as her sidekick following the horrific events depicted in the Terror Titans mini-series. After the duo fight off a robot invasion of the city, Power Girl is kidnapped by the new Ultra-Humanite, who plans to transplant his brain into her body. Using her ice breath to destroy her gravity enhanced shackles and gag, Power Girl easily defeats the villain and saves New York. She also helps a trio of lost alien princesses and their bodyguard adjust to life on Earth, buying them a home in South America to stay until they can get back to their home planet.\n\nFollowing a massive battle that ends in the destruction of the Justice Society's HQ, the team decides to split up into two separate squads. Power Girl partners with Magog to start a more youth-oriented team dubbed the JSA All-Stars. Using Stargirl as leverage, the two are able to convince all of the teen JSA members except Jennifer Pierce to join the All-Stars. During the team's inaugural press conference, they are attacked by a group of mercenaries led by the villainous nephew of Sylvester Pemberton. Karen and her team emerge victorious, only to discover that Pemberton has kidnapped Stargirl during the confusion of the battle. The team eventually rescues Stargirl.\n\nDuring the 2009–2010 \"Blackest Night\" storyline, both JSA teams gather in Manhattan to stave off the invading Black Lantern Corps. Several of the team members examine the corpses of Kal-L and Psycho Pirate, both of whom had been reanimated as Black Lanterns only to be killed again during a battle with Superboy and Superman. Karen breaks down in tears upon seeing the twisted corpse of Kal-L, and swears vengeance upon whoever is behind the creation of the Black Lanterns. While on her way to the streets of Manhattan to assist her teammates, Karen hears Ma Hunkel screaming. She rushes to her side, only to see Ma being attacked by the Black Lantern Lois Lane-Kent of pre-Crisis Earth-Two. Black Lantern Lois sacrifices herself by removing her ring and giving it to Kal-L to reanimate him. During the battle between Kal-L and Power Girl, Mr. Terrific invents a machine to destroy the Black Lanterns. He activates the machine and it wipes out the Black Lantern ring connection and Kal-L and completely dissolves Kal-L's corpse.\n\n\"Brightest Day\"\nIn the 2010–2011 storyline \"Brightest Day\", Power Girl attacks her comrades, and after being subdued, is discovered to have been possessed by the Starheart (the cosmic entity that gave Alan Scott and Jade their powers) to which she was vulnerable because of her Kryptonian heritage, as Kryptonians draw their abilities from the sun. Staying out of action in order avoid another possession, she helps Mr. Terrific work on a machine that may be able to dampen the Starheart's power. Nonetheless, the Starheart takes control of Miss Martian's body and transforms into her White Martian form, causing her to attack her comrades again. Batman ultimately tells her to stay on Earth and try to fight the other metahumans being controlled by the Starheart, explaining that bringing her along would jeopardize the mission.\n\nDuring the events of Justice League: Generation Lost, Power Girl assists her fellow heroes in a global manhunt to track down Maxwell Lord, the former head of Justice League International and the murderer of Ted Kord, who had been restored to life at the end of \"Blackest Night\". Lord uses his powers to erase his existence from the minds of everyone on the planet, including Power Girl. She subsequently helps Booster Gold find proof of Lord's existence. Through the course of their search, during which Power Girl encounters Divine, a raven-haired clone of herself, she manages to regain her memory of Lord. As she attempts to inform the Justice Society of this, Lord uses his powers to take control of her and attack the Justice League International, but manages to convince the others of his existence through the exhumation of Ted Kord's corpse.\n\nNew 52 \nFollowing the New 52 reboot of 2011, Power Girl appears as a refugee from Earth 2 in Worlds' Finest along with Huntress.\n\nDuring the 2011 relaunch of DC Comics' entire superhero line known as The New 52, Karen Starr appears in the Mister Terrific series as a friend of the titular hero. In the series, Starr is still the head of Starr Enterprises, which was financed by her comrade in arms Helena Wayne (Huntress) after the latter hacked into Wayne Enterprises accounts. From a software design and development corporation, Starr Enterprises now purchases intellectual property and technology with possible interdimensional access capabilities so that the two women can return home. Power Girl subsequently stars in a new ongoing series, Worlds' Finest, which premiered in May 2012. In the new continuity both she and Huntress, with whom she is partnered, are from Earth-2 but were flung into the Prime Earth's universe by an interdimensional vortex of unknown origin during the closing stages of an invasion from Apokolips-2 which took the life of Earth-2's Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman. It is also revealed that prior to adopting the alias of Power Girl, she functioned as Earth-2's Supergirl and, in stark contrast to the Supergirl of Prime Earth, Karen loves her adopted Earth with a passion and was accepted with open arms by an adoring public. Power Girl eventually returned to her source Earth in the Earth-2: World's End weekly mini-series to team up with the new Earth-2 Superman Val-Zod. A temporarily amnesiac Power Girl from a seemingly alternative reality (not Earth-2, but more reminiscent of the pre-New 52 Power Girl) crashes in Harley Quinn's reality as shown in the Harley Quinn (2013-) storyline \"Power Outage\" (Issues #10-13). Some of the missing time from this joint encounter was explored in the 6-issue mini-series Harley Quinn and Power Girl (2015). Due to an attack by some evil aliens she got knocked back to Earth and landed at Harley Quinn's feet, devoid of memories. Harley temporarily took her on as a partner and they fought crime together before being sent across the universe on a quest to return home. When Power Girl got her memories back and realized that Harley had lied to her, she was less than amused, but forgave her. However when Harley hit on her, Power Girl left her atop the Eiffel Tower. Power Girl has reappeared in Harley Quinn's ongoing series several times since and has recently taken Terra/Altee on as her sidekick/partner.\n\nDC Universe\nIn the post-DC Rebirth DC Universe, Power Girl (Karen Starr) appears to be trapped in some sort of interdimensional void between earths. Tanya Spears tries to get Karen Starr out by using an etheric transponder that allows her to travel there in an incorporeal state, but her physical body was disconnected from the machine by an unaware Kid Flash (Wallace West), so both women remain trapped as a result.\n\nIn the \"Watchmen\" sequel \"Doomsday Clock,\" Power Girl returns to the DC Universe when Doctor Manhattan, inspired by Superman, undoes the changes that he made to the timeline that erase the Justice Society and the Legion of Super-Heroes.\n\nShe can be seen talking with Blue Beetle on the background alongside Supergirl.\n\nPowers and abilities\nAs the biological cousin of Superman, Power Girl exhibits all of the classic Kryptonian powers: super strength; flight; super speed; invulnerability; x-ray, telescopic, microscopic and heat vision; freeze breath; and super-hearing. Over the years various writers have given Power Girl's Kryptonian power differing levels, reflecting the lower powers of the Earth-Two Superman Kal-L. For example, Power Girl can fly through space, but has to breathe, so before she leaves a planet, she must take a deep breath and hold it for several hours until she needs a new oxygen source. Power Girl needs to sleep or she will experience disorientation due to fatigue. However, as recently shown in \"Brightest Day\", she now draws her superpowers from yellow sunlight, just like Superman. The reason for this change has not yet been explained.\n\nSince she is from an alternative universe (pre-Crisis Earth Two), kryptonite has no effect on her, but she is still vulnerable to magic. As Karen Starr, she is an accomplished business woman and is regarded by Mr. Terrific as a first rate scientist. Even though Power Girl is from an alternative universe, her biology is still similar to Superman's. As one of a handful of characters who survived the Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC editorial was initially uncertain how to portray the character and attempted to portray Power Girl with a non-Kryptonian origin for a number of years. Power Girl's abilities have fluctuated since 1986. For some time, Power Girl believed she was an Atlantean. At one point, Power Girl possessed telekinesis; at another she was vulnerable to attacks by certain natural elements (for example, wooden weapons). After sustaining severe injuries from a magic attack Power Girl retained only a degree of super strength, speed and durability. However, she later recovered her ability to fly, and writers have gradually restored her superpowers.\n\nPhysical appearance and costumes\nPower Girl's original Wally Wood artwork (1976) showed her as relatively busty but otherwise her figure and build conformed in appearance to other contemporary comic book women. However, in Wonder Woman #34 (2009), written by Gail Simone, Dinah Lance, the Black Canary, mentions Power Girl as having the top bosom of DCU, comparing her assets with a \"national treasure\". Her most common outfit is a leg-baring, figure-hugging, long-sleeved white leotard with a keyhole cut-out opening in the chest.\n\nAccording to character writer Jimmy Palmiotti, \"Okay. When the character was created, Wally Wood was the artist that drew Power Girl, and he was convinced that the editors were not paying attention to anything he did. So, his inker said \"Every issue, I’m going to draw the tits bigger until they notice it. It took about seven or eight issues before anyone was like, \"Hey, what’s with the tits?\" And that’s where they stopped. True story.\"\n\nPower Girl was at one time portrayed as having a highly athletic but slender physique. Artists Bart Sears (in the Justice League Europe series), and later Alex Ross (in the limited series Kingdom Come) restored Power Girl's well-endowed shape. Ross rendered her as a heavily muscled Power Woman (as if she was an ardent bodybuilder).\n\nThe character is consistently depicted as a large breasted young woman, and her physique is one of her most recognizable attributes – to the extent that various writers have acknowledged it in both serious and humorous ways.\n\nFor example, Justice League Europe #37 (1992) attempts to explain Power Girl's revealing costume by having Crimson Fox question her about it; she receives the reply that the costume \"shows what I am: female, healthy. If men want to degrade themselves by staring, that's their problem, I'm not going to apologize for it.\"\n\nConversely, in JSA: Classified #2 (2005), writer Geoff Johns has Power Girl explain her cleavage-window to Superman, revealing that \"the first time I made this costume, I wanted to have a symbol, like you. I just…I couldn’t think of anything. I thought eventually, I’d figure it out. And close the hole. But I haven’t.\" A similar treatment of the character can be seen in Superman/Batman #4 (written by Jeph Loeb), in which the heroes need to distract the Toyman while Batman and Superman battle Captain Marvel and Hawkman. Batman suggests that Power Girl's endowments would be likely to distract Toyman, a 13-year-old boy. Toyman later attempts to make a reference to the size of her chest before being cut off by Superman. A variant of this joke is included in the Superman/Batman: Public Enemies movie.\n\nPower Girl's costume design has varied greatly over the years. Her classic costume design from All-Star Comics #58 is that which is in use today: a red cape and belt, blue gloves and boots, and a white bodysuit sporting a circular cleavage-exposing cut-out on her chest (its variable size and shape determined by the artist depicting her). According to Gerry Conway, \"The true, dumb reason for the circle? At the time, it was a convention for hero costumes to have a chest symbol. I thought a giant 'P' looked silly. The circle was intended as a nod to convention without being conventional. Not a sexy thing at all, until Wally Wood’s inks.\" This window was closed for the first time in All-Star Comics #64, pencilled by Wood. According to Conway, it was dictated by publisher Jenette Kahn, because \"she felt it was sexist\". During her time with Justice League Europe/America, she wears a capeless yellow and white spandex unitard, and later a blue and white spandex unitard with a short mini-cape, headband, and a diamond shaped opening on her chest, once again exposing her cleavage. She has also worn a headband, as had Supergirl prior to her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths. In a guest appearance in Green Lantern, Kara is seen in her large wardrobe closet with every costume design she has ever worn in DC continuity, deciding which costume to wear for that mission. Her original costume returned when Johns and David Goyer had her rejoin the JSA.\n\nIn Justice League: Generation Lost #16, she sports a variation of her traditional costume that includes pants.\n\nAs part of DC's 2011 reboot of its continuity, The New 52, Power Girl was reintroduced into the DC Universe as first being the Earth-2 Supergirl, where she wears a variation of the traditional Supergirl costume designed by Kevin Maguire that features red gloves and belt, and a new S-shield, identical to the new Earth 2 Superman's, and has a cape that attaches directly to the shield. However, some aspects of her continuity were retained: she was still adopted by Clark Kent and Lois Lane, married on Earth 2 before their deaths and still uses the secret identity of software entrepreneur Karen Starr. After some time passes, she decides to take on a new identity as she is now trapped on the mainstream DC Earth. Here she adopts the identity Power Girl, where she wears a white one piece body suit that covers her legs, and a red cape that attaches to a new P-shield symbol over her left breast. In Supergirl #19, she returns to her classic costume, complete with the opening on her chest, after her then-current costume is badly damaged. Later, when back in her home world, she discovers her cousin and adopted father Superman has been resurrected by Darkseid, but Superman sacrifices himself to help stave off Darkseid's attack on Earth. After his second death, Power Girl's adoptive mother Lois Lane (Red Tornado) gives her the S-shaped hope symbol from Superman's chest, which then becomes a part of Power Girl's costume.\n\nOther versions\n\n The first use of the name Power Girl was a story in Superman #125 (1958). In this story, Lois Lane has a dream where she is a superhero named Power Girl who is constantly coming to the aid of a bumbling Clark Kent whom she dreams as a superhero named Power Man. In Power Girl #23 (June 2011), Power Girl adopts this incarnation's red wig disguise for her Karen Starr identity (along with glasses), after being advised by Superman to make Karen a real person, not just a costume.\n In the final issue of 52 (2007), a new Multiverse is formed, consisting of 52 parallel realities. As a result of Mister Mind \"eating\" aspects of these realities, their histories are modified, and one takes on aspects of the pre-Crisis Earth-Two. This reality listed as \"Earth-2\" has its own Power Girl who has spent years in space searching for her long lost cousin Superman. As shown in several issues of Justice Society (Vol. 3) Annual #1 (2008) and issues #18–25), the mainstream Power Girl was sent to Post-Crisis Earth-2 by Gog and was briefly confused to be the Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl by its native heroes. Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl returned to her source Earth and battled the mainstream Power Girl as she regarded the mainstream Power Girl to be an imposter who caused the disappearance of her source Earth Superman who she had been searching unsuccessfully for years off-world. Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl wears the original Power Girl costume and shows herself to be arrogant to the point of being unbalanced, and is overtly aggressive as shown when she openly tortured the mainstream Power Girl almost to the point of killing her as well as directly attacking the Earth-22 Superman. The two Power Girls parted with no apologies given for the torture. Starman stated that the mainstream Power Girl will have important interactions with the Post-Crisis Earth-2 heroes including the Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl at some points in the future (Justice Society (vol. 3) #25), despite the obvious disregard the Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl has for the mainstream Power Girl. The Post-Crisis Earth-2 Power Girl has not reappeared since this storyline concluded.\n In the Tangent Comics imprint, Power Girl is a vastly powered genetically engineered superhero created by the Chinese government. This Power Girl is of Chinese descent. This powerful superhuman have originality from the Earth in the reality of Earth-9.\n The JLA: Another Nail graphic novel features a Power Girl who is an ally of that reality's Black Canary and Black Orchid. Though visually identical to her Earth-2 counterpart, her relationship to Superman or if she is even a Kryptonian at all is never mentioned in the story.\n In Kingdom Come, Power Girl is renamed Power Woman, and assists Superman in reforming the Justice League.\n In JLA: Created Equal, Power Girl is a member of the Justice League. She has a daughter of her own, Kara Zor-L II.\n A version of Power Girl appeared in Justice League International Annual #5, No Rules to Follow. This version of Kara has no memory of where she came from before she arrived on Earth. As part of a team of ten revealed metahumans, she sides with the heroes who go into hiding.\n Karen, now stripped of her powers thanks to the Great Darkness Engine, appeared as a prisoner of Kid Karnevil's Neo-Nazi regime shown in the Fatherland storyline depicted in Justice Society of America #37–40. She is portrayed as one of the world's few living surviving superheroes, with most of her comrades having been executed.\n An elderly, grotesque and blind version of Power Girl, known as Old Karrie, appeared in an alternative timeline depicted in Justice League: Generation Lost. Set in 2351, she is stated to be the sole survivor of a violent metahuman war instigated by Maxwell Lord. According to Karrie, even the immortal metahumans were killed in the war. She also claimed to have lost her powers, as a result of kryptonite. She is still somehow alive, after more than 300 years, without powers, food or even sleep. Another future Power Girl appears later in the series, fighting alongside a future incarnation of the Justice League. When Captain Atom is once again sent into the future, he meets an older Kara Zor-L, with white hair. She has abandoned her classical white bodysuit for a black one, with bracelets (similar to Wonder Woman's) & Superman's S-shield.\n In the Ame-Comi line, Power Girl is that universe's equivalent of Superman. She is Kara Jor-El, daughter of Jor-El, cousin of Supergirl, and the primary protector of Metropolis. She makes no efforts to maintain a secret identity, and uses her corporation to utilize Kryptonian technology for the betterment of mankind. This version of Power Girl, unusually for most depictions of Kryptonians, doesn't get her powers from the sun.\n A red-haired version of Power Girl is seen amongst the agents employed by Monarch in the battle on Earth-51 during Countdown to Final Crisis. This version appears to be Kryptonian as she is shown to be susceptible to kryptonite and is slain by that world's version of Batman. Nothing is known about her personality or powers as she is seen only in a few panels and appears to be fully under Monarch's control and arrogantly describes Batman as being \"just a human\". It is the only line she speaks before being slain.\n In the DC Comics Bombshells universe, Power Girl was cloned from Supergirl's DNA by Hugo Strange during the Siege of Leningrad, and was forced by her master to fight Supergirl until the latter convinces her to turn on Strange. She escapes the facility beneath the Church of the Savior on Blood thanks to the assistance of Supergirl and another superhuman clone whom she treated like a brother, Superman.\n\nCollected editions\n Power Girl (collects JSA Classified #1-4, Showcase #97-99 and Secret Origins #11)\n Power Girl: A New Beginning (collects Power Girl #1–6)\n Power Girl: Aliens and Apes (collects Power Girl #7–12)\n Power Girl: Bomb Squad (collects Power Girl #13–18)\n Power Girl: Old Friends (collects Power Girl #19–27)\n Power Girl: Power Trip (collects JSA Classified #1–4 and Power Girl #1–12)\n\nIn other media\n\nTelevision\n Although Power Girl did not directly appear in the Justice League animated series or the follow-up, Justice League Unlimited (although she does appear in a few of the ambiguously canon tie-in comics), the JLU character Galatea (voiced by Nicholle Tom) is based on her. This character is a clone of Supergirl (also voiced by Tom) created by Emil Hamilton (who sees her as a daughter, while she sees him as a father figure) from Project Cadmus as a contingency plan in case the Justice League turned against the US. Although the clone resembles Power Girl and wears a similar hairstyle and costume (at one point, she briefly drapes a red workout towel over her shoulder, resembling the half-cape of her comic book counterpart), her personality and origin are significantly different, being a supervillain who seeks the League's destruction. She also possesses a mental link with Supergirl, allowing them to experience each other's recent memories in the form of dreams. Galatea first appears in the first season's sixth episode, \"Fearful Symmetry.\" She subsequently appears at the end of season 2's \"Flashpoint\", and she is last seen in season 2's \"Panic in the Sky\". In her last appearance, \"Panic in the Sky\", she fights Supergirl for control of the Watchtower. She is defeated by Supergirl, who traps her in a contact, causing all of the Watchtower's power to flow through her, causing an overload. Following the massive surge of electricity, she is left dead, twitching and catatonic. Conversely, this continuity's Supergirl borrows several elements from Power Girl, such as having been in suspended animation (which had not been introduced in the Kara Zor-El mythology at that point) and being a surrogate cousin of Kal-El rather than a biological relative. Also, in her first appearance, in Superman: The Animated Series, when she first meets Jimmy Olsen, she's without a disguise and tells him that her name is \"Karen\".\n Smallville\n In the Smallville season 2 episode \"Visage\", Chloe Sullivan identifies Tina Greer (Lizzy Caplan) by the moniker \"Power Girl\".\n In the Smallville season 3 episode \"Extinction\", the \"meteor freaks\" database created by Chloe Sullivan uses a program called Starr-Ware Database System 5.0, which hints at the existence of Karen Starr's corporation, Starrware, in the Smallville universe.\n In the Smallville season 3 finale \"Covenant\", a girl named Kara (played by Adrianne Palicki) claims to be from Krypton, although she does not claim to be Kal-El's relative. However, when Lana Lang asks who she is, Clark pretends Kara is his visiting cousin. At the end of the episode, she is revealed to be Lindsay Harrison, a human empowered and possibly brainwashed by Jor-El's technology. As with many of the show's future superheroes, who tend to be dressed in the same colors as the costumes of their comic-book counterparts, Lindsay is dressed in white, matching the color of Power Girl's costume (minus the red cape and blue boots, as Lindsay never wore either a jacket or shoes).\n In the Smallville season 10 episode \"Supergirl\", Lois Lane suggests \"Power Girl\" as a name for Kara Zor-El (then known as \"Maiden of Might\").\n Power Girl appears in episode 46 of Mad. She joins the other superheroes in a musical number that asks Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called \"Super Friends.\"\n Former The Flash executive producer Andrew Kreisberg hinted that Power Girl could appear in the series.\n In the DC Super Hero Girls episode \"#PowerSurge\", Supergirl (voiced by Nicole Sullivan) is presumed dead after a major battle with Livewire and decides to reinvent herself as a new heroine and becomes Power Girl. Her comic book origins on Earth-2 are referenced when Superman begins to suspect the ruse and she makes up a story on the spot about being an alternate universe's Supergirl.\n\nFilm\n Power Girl appears in the animated Superman/Batman: Public Enemies film, voiced by Allison Mack. This marks her first true appearance in animation, as opposed to the above JLU version which is merely based on her. In the film, she works under the command of Captain Atom, who is under orders from President Lex Luthor. When Superman is framed for murdering Metallo, she is the only one of her group to truly doubt his guilt, and she later switches sides and helps him and Batman. She angrily attacks Major Force after it is revealed he killed Metallo and almost killed Batman; in the fight, she accidentally ruptures Force's containment suit, almost causing him to explode, which would unleash his nuclear energies on the city. The potential disaster is averted by Captain Atom, who absorbs all of the dying Force's energy into his own containment suit, making himself considerably more powerful in the process but passing out from the strain. She is later revealed to have helped them escape from Hawkman and Captain Marvel. As in the graphic novel on which the film is based, she is assigned to watch over the new teenage Toyman, Hiro Okamura, who finds her quite attractive, even \"testing\" his X-ray goggles on her, which she finds offensive; so she breaks his goggles and avoids him from then on (he later tries to make a comment on her breast size as well, before being interrupted by Batman). She is knocked unconscious by Lex Luthor in his new kryptonite enhanced battle-suit, but she recovers and is seen at the end, along with her squad members, taking the now-impeached Luthor into custody.\n In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, an evil version of Power Girl appeared on a computer page of the lesser members of the Crime Syndicate.\n Power Girl is portrayed by Ashley Hinshaw in the 2011 short film The Death and Return of Superman.\n While Power Girl doesn't appear herself, the animated Batman and Harley Quinn film briefly features a waitress, at a superhero themed restaurant called Superbabes, who is dressed in a Power Girl costume. The same restaurant is shown to offer a \"Power Girl Jumbo Combo\".\n Power Girl makes a brief appearance in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.\n\nMiscellaneous\n Power Girl appears in the DC Animated Universe in the comic book series: Adventures in the DC Universe (vol. 1) #6, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #13, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #16, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #3, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #34, Justice League Unlimited (vol. 1) #8 and Superman and Batman Magazine (vol. 1) #1.\n Power Girl appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold #1 (March 2009), in which she helps Batman to stop Lex Luthor. Much like her mainstream comic counterpart, she came from an alternative universe's Krypton. In her civilian identity, she goes by the name Karen Starr and is a computer programmer. Her goal is to create a device to monitor Earth's condition, so that her new home planet will not suffer the fate of Krypton.\n\nVideo games\n Power Girl appears in the DC Universe Online video game, voiced by Adrienne Mishler. In the villain campaign, the players help Parasite to defeat Power Girl and to gain a sample of her DNA so that Lex Luthor can be one step ahead of cracking the Kryptonian genetic code. She is also a playable character in DC Universe Online through \"Legends PvP\".\n Power Girl appears as DLC in Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.\n Power Girl appears in Injustice 2 as a premier skin for Supergirl, voiced by Sara Cravens.\n\nIn popular culture\n\n Power Girl is a popular cosplay character.\n Power Girl appears as a member of the Justice League in the comic book adaptation of Justice League Unlimited, issues #8 and #16.\n Power Girl has been featured in several comedy skits aired beginning in 2010 on G4TV's Attack of the Show. The skits, which also feature parody versions of Superman and Aquaman, feature AOTS guest host Carrie Keagan as a physically accurate recreation of the character, although the skits cast Power Girl in the stereotypical \"dumb blonde\" role; for example, the second skit has Power Girl trying to convince her friends that actor Kevin Bacon is, in fact, made of bacon.\n The character was ranked ninth in Comics Buyer's Guide's \"100 Sexiest Women in Comics\" list.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n JSA Fact File: Power Girl\n Earth-2 Power Girl Index\n A Brief History of Power Girl by Julian Darius\n History of Power Girl by Alan Kistler\n Power Girl's official secret origin on dccomics.com\n Amanda Conner: Talking Power Girl – Interview with JSA Classified artist Amanda Conner.\n Everybody Loves Power Girl! by writer David Campbell.\n Interviews with Paul Levitz, Gerry Conway, and Ric Estrada about the 1970s All Star Comics revival—from Alter Ego Vol. 3#14.\n Power Struggle, the Rise and fall and Rise Again of DC's Power Girl – Movie PoopShoot Article\n The Experiment Part Two: still \"Power Girl\" after all these years ~ Joseph Illidge by former Birds of Prey editor Joseph Illidge.\n Interview: Jimmy Palmiotti interview at Pink Raygun\n\nAlternative versions of comics characters\nCharacters created by Gerry Conway\nCharacters created by Ric Estrada\nCharacters created by Wally Wood\nComics characters introduced in 1976\nDC Comics characters with superhuman strength\nDC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes\nDC Comics female superheroes\nDC Comics orphans\nEarth-Two\nFictional business executives\nKryptonians\nSupergirl",
"Girl power is a term of female empowerment.\n\nGirl Power may also refer to:\n\nGirl Power (video), a 1992 short film by Sadie Benning\nGirl Power (Kickboxing) Television series produced by World Kickboxing Network\n\nMusic\nGirl Power! Live in Istanbul, a 1997 concert by the Spice Girls\nGirl Power North America Tour, a 2014–2015 concert tour by English singer-songwriter Charli XCX\n\"Girl Power\" (song), a 2003 single by the Cheetah Girls\n\nAlbums\nOne Hour of Girl Power, a 1997 video by Spice Girls\nGirl Power (Shampoo album), a 1996 album, and its title track\nGirl Power (Twins album), a 2004 album"
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[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power",
"When did the Spice Girls become popular?",
"the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with \"Wannabe\", that the concept of \"girl power\" exploded onto the common consciousness.",
"What is girl power?",
"The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:"
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C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
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When was Wannabe released?
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When was Wannabe by the Spice Girls released?
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Spice Girls
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The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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1996
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
| true |
[
"SG Wannabe by SG Wannabe 7 Part.I is the first part of the seventh Korean studio album by SG Wannabe. The second part was due to be released in November the same year but was not released until March 2011.\n\n\"Winter Tree\" was the first single released from the album.\n\nThe music video for \"Sunflower\" featured Baek Sung Hyun.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\nSG Wannabe albums\nStone Music Entertainment albums\n2010 albums",
"Re-boot is the first full-length album by South Korean boy band Golden Child. It was released on November 18, 2019 through Woollim Entertainment and distributed by Kakao M. It contains twelve songs, including its lead single \"Wannabe\".\n\nA repackage titled Without You was released on January 29, 2020 with the addition of two new songs, including the lead single of the same name.\n\nBackground and release \nOn October 31, 2019, Woollim Entertainment revealed a new logo for Golden Child in a short video, featuring the team name written with a strong gold color with an addition of the mysterious word \"Re-boot\". Later, on November 4, the mysterious word was confirmed to be the name for their first full-length album when Woollim released the first set of individual concept photos. On November 5, they revealed the tracklist for the album, revealing \"Wannabe\" as the lead single. They also released the track preview for the track \"Re-boot\" and the lead single \"Wannabe\". Then, from November 8-11, they would release the track preview for \"Lately\", \"Compass\", \"No Matter What\", and \"A Song For Me\" consecutively. On November 11, they also released the second set of individual concept photos. On November 12-13, they released the track preview for \"Spring Again\" and \"She's My Girl\". On November 13, the first music video teaser for \"Wannabe\" was also released. On November 14, they released the track preview for \"Our Heaven\". On November 15, apart from releasing the track preview for \"Fantasia\", they also released the second music video teaser for \"Wannabe\". After releasing the track preview for \"Don't Run Away\" and \"Go Together\" on November 16-17 consecutively,\nthey officially released Re-boot and the music video for \"Wannabe\" on November 18.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nRe-boot\n\nWeekly charts\n\nMonthly charts\n\nWithout You\n\nWeekly charts\n\nMonthly chart\n\nAccolades\n\nMusic program awards\n\nReferences \n\n2019 albums\nGolden Child (band) albums\nKorean-language albums"
] |
[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power",
"When did the Spice Girls become popular?",
"the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with \"Wannabe\", that the concept of \"girl power\" exploded onto the common consciousness.",
"What is girl power?",
"The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:",
"When was Wannabe released?",
"1996"
] |
C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
|
What other songs was on that record?
| 4 |
What other songs were on the Spice Girls record, besides "Wannabe"?
|
Spice Girls
|
The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
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"\"Everything Is Wrong\" is a song by American rock band Interpol. It was released as the third single from their fifth studio album, El Pintor (2014), on April 18, 2015. The single was released on Record Store Day as a limited edition vinyl 7\". A music video for the song was released on January 22, 2015. A remix of the song was later made by Bosnian DJ Solomun, which was released in April 2016. \"Everything Is Wrong\" peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart and appeared on the soundtrack for MLB 15: The Show.\n\nMusic video\nThe official music video for \"Everything Is Wrong\" was released on January 22, 2015. It was co-directed by Carlos Puga and Interpol frontman Paul Banks. The video is centered on band members Banks, Daniel Kessler and Sam Fogarino as they walk throughout New York City on their way to a concert they will be playing at. While it shows Kessler and Fogarino acting nice towards other people, Banks is depicted as a more rude person who bothers others. Tom Breihan of Stereogum labeled Banks as \"basically a Jeremy Renner character\" in the video.\n\nRelease\nPrior to its single release, the song was featured on the soundtrack for the video game MLB 15: The Show. \"Everything Is Wrong\" was released as a limited edition vinyl 7\" as part of Record Store Day 2015. Only 4,000 copies of the single were made. The song was backed with \"What Is What\", a previously unreleased track. The artwork for the single was created by Shepard Fairey. A remix of the song was made by Bosnian DJ Solomun, which was released on April 29, 2016 by 2DIY4.\n\nTrack listing\n Matador – OLE-1081-7 – Record Store Day 7\" vinyl single\n\n 2DIY4 – 2DIY4-16 – 12\" remixes single\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2014 songs\n2015 singles\nMatador Records singles\nSongs written by Paul Banks (American musician)\nSongs written by Sam Fogarino\nSongs written by Daniel Kessler (guitarist)",
"\"What We Live For\" is a song recorded by American indie rock band American Authors as the third single from their second studio album, What We Live For. The song was released on April 1, 2016.\n\nPromotion\nAmerican Authors unveiled \"What We Live For\" on April 1, 2016. The music video directed by Rosco Guerrero was premiered through Vevo on June 22, 2016. Jay Pryor remix version was released on September 16, 2016.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2016 singles\n2016 songs\nAmerican Authors songs\nIsland Records singles\nSongs written by Aaron Accetta\nSong recordings produced by Aaron Accetta\nSongs written by Shep Goodman\nSongs written by Ryan McMahon (record producer)\nSongs written by Ben Berger\nSong recordings produced by Captain Cuts"
] |
[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power",
"When did the Spice Girls become popular?",
"the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with \"Wannabe\", that the concept of \"girl power\" exploded onto the common consciousness.",
"What is girl power?",
"The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:",
"When was Wannabe released?",
"1996",
"What other songs was on that record?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
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Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
| 5 |
Aside from "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls being released in 1996, are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
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Spice Girls
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The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
| false |
[
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power",
"When did the Spice Girls become popular?",
"the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with \"Wannabe\", that the concept of \"girl power\" exploded onto the common consciousness.",
"What is girl power?",
"The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:",
"When was Wannabe released?",
"1996",
"What other songs was on that record?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members"
] |
C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
|
How else did they promote girl power?
| 6 |
How else did the Spice Girls promote girl power, besides that the phrase was regularly uttered by all five members?
|
Spice Girls
|
The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore.
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
| false |
[
"\"I Want a Girl (Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)\" (sometimes shortened to \"I Want a Girl\") is a popular song of 1911 composed by Harry Von Tilzer and with lyrics by William Dillon, which has become a barbershop quartet standard.\n\nVon Tilzer and Dillon had never written a song together before, but finding themselves on the same vaudeville bill, von Tilzer suggested they might collaborate on some songs while on the road. Dillon had already had some success with \"girl\" songs such as \"I'd Rather Have a Girlie Than an Automobile\", so von Tilzer suggested they try another in that vein. The song was finished in February 1911, and was published on March 11, 1911. While singers immediately took to it, Dillon and von Tilzer did not use it much themselves.\n\n Yet, the song was one of the most popular of 1911, bested only by \"Alexander's Ragtime Band\" by Irving Berlin. According to Dillon's 1966 obituary in The New York Times, the song sold over five million score sheets and recordings.\n\nAmong many subsequent appearances in pop culture, the song appears in the 1944 film Show Business, the 1946 film The Jolson Story, and an episode of the 1980s cartoon DuckTales. The song also appears in the Whistleblower DLC for the survival horror video game Outlast.\n\nSince the song refers to a young man wanting to find a wife like his mother, it is perhaps inevitable that some commentators have suggested, with varying degrees of seriousness, that the song's title and lyrics promote an Oedipus complex.\n\nLyrics\nVerse\nWhen I was a boy my mother often said to me\nGet married boy and see how happy you will be\nI have looked all over, but no girlie can I find,\nWho seems to be just like the little girl I have in mind,\nI will have to look around until the right one I have found.\n\nChorus\nI want a girl, just like the girl that married my Dad\nShe was a pearl and the only girl that Daddy ever had,\nA good old fashioned girl with heart so true,\nOne who loves nobody else but you,\nI want a girl, just like the girl that married dear old Dad.\n\nVerse 2\nBy the old mill stream there sit a couple old and gray,\nThough years have rolled away, their hearts are young today.\nMother dear looks up at Dad with love light in her eye,\nHe steals a kiss, a fond embrace, while ev'ning breezes sigh,\nThey're as happy as can be, so that's the kind of love for me.\n\nNotable recordings\n Columbia Quartette (29 May 1911)\n American Quartet with Walter Van Brunt (27 July 1911)\n Dorothy Ward (January 1913)\n Ella Retford (1920s?)\n Dan Hornsby Trio (1928) Columbia\n Al Jolson (28 November 1947)\n Frankie Carle (1948)\n Four Lovers (1956)\n Graham Cuthbertson as Eddie Gluskin in Outlast: Whistleblower (2013)\n Singing Mushrooms from Kings Dominion (1975-1990;2014-)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n 1911 recording by American Quartet (Library of Congress)\n Sheet Music at Levy Sheet Music Collection\n\n1911 songs\nBarbershop music\nSongs with music by Harry Von Tilzer",
"The That's My Kind of Night Tour was the second headlining concert tour by American country music artist Luke Bryan, in support of his fourth studio album Crash My Party (2013). It began on January 8, 2014 in Columbus, Ohio and finished on May 7, 2015 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The tour is sponsored by Miller Lite, Texaco, and Cabela's.\n\nConcert synopsis\nAt Stadiums and arenas the show begins with Bryan standing on a black truck with flames surrounding him while singing his hit \"That's My Kind of Night\".\n\nSetlists\n{{hidden\n| headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 59%;\n| contentcss = text-align: left; font-size: 100%; width: 75%;\n| header = North America Leg 1 \n| content = \n\"That's My Kind of Night\"\n\"Rain Is a Good Thing\"\n\"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye\"\n\"All My Friends Say\"\n\"Country Man\"\n\"Someone Else Calling You Baby\"\n\"Do I\"\n\"Play It Again\"\n\"Muckalee Creek Water\"/\"Drinkin' Beer and Wastin' Bullets\"\n\"Suntan City\"\n\"If You Ain't Here to Party\"\n\"Can't Hold Us\" \n\"Crash My Party\"\n\"Drink a Beer\"\n\"Drunk on You\"\n\"I Don't Want This Night to End\" (mashed up with Taio Cruz's \"Dynamite\")\nEncore\n\"The Only Way I Know\"\n\"Country Girl (Shake It for Me)\"\n}}\n{{hidden\n| headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 59%;\n| contentcss = text-align: left; font-size: 100%; width: 75%;\n| header = North America Legs 2 & 3\n| content = \n\"That's My Kind of Night\"\n\"Rain Is a Good Thing\"\n\"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye\"\n\"All My Friends Say\"\n\"Roller Coaster\"\n\"Country Man\"\n\"Someone Else Calling You Baby\"\n\"Crazy Girl\" \n\"Shut It Down\"\n\"Do I\"\n\"This Is How We Roll\" \n\"Suntan City\"\n\"Crash My Party\"\n\"Drink a Beer\"\n\"Drunk on You\"\n\"I Don't Want This Night to End\" (mashed up with Taio Cruz's \"Dynamite\")\nEncore\n\"Play it Again\"\n\"Country Girl (Shake It for Me)\"\n}}\n{{hidden\n| headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 59%;\n| contentcss = text-align: left; font-size: 100%; width: 75%;\n| header = Lincoln Financial Field\n| content = \n\"That's My Kind of Night\"\n\"Rain Is a Good Thing\"\n\"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye\"\n\"All My Friends Say\"\n\"Roller Coaster\"\n\"Country Man\"\n\"Someone Else Calling You Baby\"\n\"Crazy Girl\" \n\"Shut It Down\"\n\"Do I\"\n\"This Is How We Roll\" \n\"Dirt Road Anthem\" \n\"Suntan City\"\n\"Crash My Party\"\n\"Drink a Beer\"\n\"Drunk on You\"\n\"I Don't Want This Night to End\" (mashed up with Taio Cruz's \"Dynamite\")\nEncore\n\"Play It Again\"\n\"Country Girl (Shake It for Me)\"\n}}\n{{hidden\n| headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 59%;\n| contentcss = text-align: left; font-size: 100%; width: 75%;\n| header = Gillette Stadium\n| content = \n\"That's My Kind of Night\"\n\"Rain Is a Good Thing\"\n\"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye\"\n\"All My Friends Say\"\n\"Roller Coaster\"\n\"Country Man\"\n\"Someone Else Calling You Baby\"\n\"Crazy Girl\" \n\"Shut It Down\"\n\"This Is How We Roll\" \n\"The Only Way I Know\" \n\"Suntan City\"\n\"How Am I Doin\" \n\"Crash My Party\"\n\"Drink a Beer\"\n\"Drunk on You\"\n\"I Don't Want This Night to End\" (mashed up with Taio Cruz's \"Dynamite\")\nEncore\n\"Play It Again\"\n\"Country Girl (Shake It for Me)\"\n}}\n{{hidden\n| headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 59%;\n| contentcss = text-align: left; font-size: 100%; width: 75%;\n| header = Soldier Field & Heinz Field\n| content = \n\"That's My Kind of Night\"\n\"Rain Is a Good Thing\"\n\"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye\"\n\"All My Friends Say\"\n\"Roller Coaster\"\n\"Country Man\"\n\"Someone Else Calling You Baby\"\n\"Crazy Girl\" \n\"Shut It Down\"\n\"This Is How We Roll\"\n\"Dust On The Battle\" \n\"Fishin In The Dark\" \n\"Suntan City\"\n\"Crash My Party\"\n\"Drink a Beer\"\n\"Drunk on You\"\n\"I Don't Want This Night to End\" (mashed up with Taio Cruz's \"Dynamite\")\nEncore\n\"Play It Again\"\n\"Country Girl (Shake It for Me)\"\n}}\n{{hidden\n| headercss = background: #ccccff; font-size: 100%; width: 59%;\n| contentcss = text-align: left; font-size: 100%; width: 75%;\n| header = North America Leg 4\n| content = \n\"Kick the Dust Up\"\n\"All My Friends Say\"\n\"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye\"\n\"Roller Coaster\"\n\"Play It Again\"\n\"Crash My Party\"\n\"Games\"\n\"Someone Else Calling You Baby\"\n\"This Is How We Roll\"\n\"Do I\"\n\"Drink a Beer\"\n\"Drunk on You\"\n\"Rain Is a Good Thing\"\n\"I See You\"\n\"I Don't Want This Night to End\"\nEncore\n\"That's My Kind of Night\"\n\"Country Girl (Shake It For Me)\"\n\nSource:\n}}\n\nTour dates\n\nList of festivals and fairs\n This concert was a part of the Great Jones Fair.\n This concert was a part of the C2C: Country to Country country music festival.\n\nNotes:\nDue to stage collapse the Lexington, Kentucky show was moved from January 17, 2014 to February 21. \nDue inclement weather the Greensboro, North Carolina show was moved from February 13 to February 17.\n\nCritical reception\nTara Toro of Got Country Online says, \"Whether you like his music or not, there is no denying, Luke is an entertainer with a capital \"E\". And gave 200% for the hour and a half he was on stage. The only song that really didn't go over well with the crowd was the combo of \"Mukalee Creek Water\"/\"Drinkin' Beer and Wastin Bullets.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n2014 concert tours\n2015 concert tours\nLuke Bryan concert tours"
] |
[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power",
"When did the Spice Girls become popular?",
"the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with \"Wannabe\", that the concept of \"girl power\" exploded onto the common consciousness.",
"What is girl power?",
"The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:",
"When was Wannabe released?",
"1996",
"What other songs was on that record?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members",
"How else did they promote girl power?",
"The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore."
] |
C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
|
Did they tour at this time?
| 7 |
Did the Spice Girls tour in 1996?
|
Spice Girls
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The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
| false |
[
"This is a list of the Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates. The event was held at three courses at the Walt Disney World Resort: Magnolia Golf Course, Palm Golf Course, and Cypress Creek Golf Club. 375 players made the finals. \n\nTwo significant international players were in the event. They were Dale Hayes, \"a highly regarded players from Pretoria, South Africa,\" and England's Maurice Bembridge. Hayes opened, well with a 69 (−3), to put himself two back of the lead. Bembridge, however, struggled in the first round with a 76 (+4). Overall, Bobby Stroble and Andy Bean held the joint first round lead at 67 (−5). After the second round, it was Jerry Pate and Sandy Galbraith that were tied for the lead at 139 (−5). Pate went on to earn medallist honors. Among the first round leaders, both Strobble and Bean easily qualified, both finishing in the top ten. Among the international players, Hayes qualified for the tour while Bembridge did not. Meanwhile, Galbraith, the joint leader with Pate after the second round, also qualified.\n\nJim Thorpe also earned playing privileges on the PGA Tour for the first time. In addition, Bill Mallon, a recent graduate of Duke University, also earned playing privileges. Shortly after he graduated he told The Boston Globe, \"I am a touring professional golfer. I did it. Achieved a lifelong dream. I've wanted to be a professional golfer for a long time. I know a lot of good young players who were 15 or 16 and they said this is want they wanted. They want to be a pro when they see Nicklaus or Palmer on TV. Well I said it. And now I've done it. I've got a long way to go to do what I want to do yet. But this is the first step.\" \n\nSource:\n\nReferences \n\n1975 2\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates\nPGA Tour Qualifying School Graduates",
"Japanese boy band Kanjani Eight have gone on a total of nine concert tours, all domestic, and several shows. In 2006, they went on their first tour F.T.O.N: Funky Tokyo Osaka Nagoya, at the three major cities the concert tour was named after. Upon the success of the initial tour, it was expanded into a national tour in the fall of that same year, performing at a total of 11 cities and 26 performances. Winter of that same year, Kanjani Eight performed a national promo tour for the release of their single \"Kan Fu Fighting\". performing at a total of six cities and performing twenty six times.\n\nIn 2007, Kanjani Eight begun their biggest national tour to date, the \"Eh?! Honma?! Bikkuri!! Tour\". The concert tour began in the spring of 2007 and ended in the fall of that same year, totaling at 113 performances in all 47 prefectures of Japan. The concert tour also marked the first time in which a signed Johnny's talent performed in every prefecture of Japan in a single tour. After the success of that tour in 2008, Kanjani Eight performed two national tours between May and August performing at a total fourteen cities and over fifty performances.\n\nKanjani Eight released Puzzle in 2009 and the national tour Puzzle in the summer of that year. Following up that tour in the winter of 2009, they returned to the Kyocera Dome and performed their first Countdown Live concert series. In the winter of 2010, Kanjani Eight performed their 8 Uppers concert tour, which also contained their second Countdown Live. In 2011, Kanjani Eight performed their winter tour which consisted five cities for a total of ten performances. This tour also contained their third countdown live. In 2012, Kanjani Eight performed their 8EST concert tour, which was a total of 40 performances. This tour is noted for the fact that they performed at their first stadium and for that it did not include a countdown live.\n\nConcert Tours\n\nOther performances\n\nReferences\n\nConcerts\nKanjani Eight"
] |
[
"Spice Girls",
"Girl power",
"When did the Spice Girls become popular?",
"the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with \"Wannabe\", that the concept of \"girl power\" exploded onto the common consciousness.",
"What is girl power?",
"The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band:",
"When was Wannabe released?",
"1996",
"What other songs was on that record?",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members",
"How else did they promote girl power?",
"The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore.",
"Did they tour at this time?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_f01b13d0faa241c6b1089b2eaf2f5573_0
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How did the band start?
| 8 |
How did the band the Spice Girls start?
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Spice Girls
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The phrase "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world: both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase itself had also appeared in a few songs by British girl groups and bands since at least 1987; most notably, it was the name of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single and album, later credited by Halliwell as the inspiration for the Spice Girls' mantra. However, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with "Wannabe", that the concept of "girl power" exploded onto the common consciousness. The phrase was regularly uttered by all five members--although most closely associated with Halliwell--and was often delivered with a peace sign. The slogan also featured on official Spice Girls merchandise and on some of the outfits the group members wore. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism--popularized as "girl power"--in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. On the other hand, some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls' debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video for "Wannabe" to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?" At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in January 2017, American actress Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech, and credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
The group formed through auditions held by managers Bob and Chris Herbert, who wanted to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. They signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single "Wannabe" in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries. Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history. The follow-up, Spiceworld (1997) sold more than 14 million copies worldwide. Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members. In 1997, a film starring the Spice Girls, Spice World, was released; it was a commercial success but received poor reviews.
In May 1998, Halliwell left the Spice Girls, citing exhaustion and creative differences. Forever (2000), the only Spice Girls album without Halliwell, achieved weaker sales. At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. They reunited for two concert tours, the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019), both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements. Viva Forever!, a musical based on the Spice Girls' music, opened in 2012; it was a critical and commercial failure and closed in 2013.
Measures of the Spice Girls' success include international record sales, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, a major motion picture, Spice World (1997), and the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group from 2000 to 2020. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, their endorsement deals and merchandise made them one of most successful marketing engines ever, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998. Their media exposure, according to Music Week writer Paul Gorman, helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide, making them the bestselling girl group of all time, one of the bestselling artists, and the most successful British pop act since the Beatles. They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.
Band history
1994–1996: Formation and early years
In the early 1990s, Bob and Chris Herbert, the father-and-son duo of Heart Management, decided to create a girl group to compete with the boy bands who dominated UK pop music at the time. Together with financier Chic Murphy, they envisioned an act comprising "five strikingly different girls" who would each appeal to a different audience. In February 1994, Heart Management placed an advertisement in the trade paper The Stage asking for singers to audition for an all-female pop band at London's Danceworks studios. Approximately 400 women attended the audition on 4 March 1994. They were placed in groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal, followed by solo auditions in which they performed songs of their choice.
After several weeks of deliberation, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were among a dozen or so women who advanced to a second round of auditions in April. Chisholm missed the second audition after coming down with tonsillitis. Despite missing the first round of auditions, Geri Halliwell persuaded the Herberts to let her attend the second. A week after the second audition, Adams, Brown, Halliwell and Stephenson were asked to attend a recall at Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, performing "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" on their own and as a group. Chisholm was also invited as a last-minute replacement for another finalist. The five women were selected for a band initially named "Touch".
The group moved into a three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, Berkshire, and spent most of 1994 practising songs written for them by Bob Herbert's long-time associates John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles. According to Stephenson, the material they were given was "very, very young pop", and none were later used by the Spice Girls. During these first months, the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell with producer and studio owner Michael Sparkes and songwriter and arranger Tim Hawes. They were also tasked with choreographing their own dance routines, which they worked on at Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. A few months into the training, Stephenson was fired for a perceived lack of commitment. Heart Management turned to the group's vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, to find a replacement. After Lemer's first recommendation declined the offer, Lemer recommended her former pupil, Emma Bunton, who auditioned for the Herberts and joined as the fifth member.
As their training continued, the group performed small showcases for a few of Heart Management's associates. On one such performance, the group added a rap section they had written to one of Thirkell and Keiles' songs. Keiles was furious with the changes and insisted they learn to write songs properly. The group began professional songwriting lessons; during one session, they wrote a song called "Sugar and Spice" with Hawes, which inspired them to change their band name to "Spice".
By late 1994, the group felt insecure as they still did not have an official contract with Heart Management, and were frustrated with the management team's direction. They persuaded Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios, where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction. The Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for them. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members refused to sign the contracts on legal advice from, among others, Adams's father. The following month, in January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they had impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. It was during these sessions that the songs "Wannabe" and "2 Become 1" were written.
In March 1995, the group parted from Heart Management due to their frustration with the company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. To ensure they kept control of their own work, they allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices. The next day, the group tracked down Sheffield-based songwriter Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the Nomis showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. Through contacts they had made at the showcase, they were also introduced to record producers Absolute. With Kennedy and Absolute's help, the group spent the next several weeks writing and recording demos for the majority of the songs that would be released on their debut album, including "Say You'll Be There" and "Who Do You Think You Are". Their demos caught the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, who signed them to his management company in May 1995.
By this point, industry buzz around the Spice Girls had grown significantly and the major record labels in London and Los Angeles were keen to sign them. After a bidding war, they signed a five-album deal with Virgin Records in July 1995. Fuller took them on an extensive promotional tour in Los Angeles, where they met with studio executives in the hopes of securing film and television opportunities. Their name was also changed to "Spice Girls" as a rapper was already using the name "Spice". The new name was chosen because the group noticed industry people often referred to them derisively as "the 'Spice' girls". The group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album.
1996–1997: Spice and breakthrough
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks before the release, the music video for "Wannabe" received a trial airing on music channel The Box. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live broadcast TV slot on LWT's Surprise Surprise. Earlier in May, the group had conducted their first music press interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of trade paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life—Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy—an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble." "Wannabe" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number one in 37 countries, including four consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, and becoming not only the biggest-selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.
Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in the UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. "2 Become 1" was released in December, becoming their first Christmas number one and selling 462,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling single of the year. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales, giving them three of the top five biggest-selling songs of 1996 in the UK. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania, leading the press to dub it "Spicemania" and the group the "Fab Five". In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone, making the Spice Girls the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold over 3 million copies in Britain, the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group, certified 10× Platinum, and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8× Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.
That same month, the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London. At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid. The group ended 1996 winning three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There". In January 1997, "Wannabe" was released in the United States. The single proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult US market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and the joint highest entry for a debut act alongside Alanis Morissette's "Ironic". "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February, Spice was released in the US, and became the biggest-selling album of 1997 in the US, peaking at number one, and was certified 7× Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies. The album was also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales. In total, the album sold over 23 million copies worldwide becoming the biggest-selling album in pop music history by an all-female group.
Later that month, the Spice Girls performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards, with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress that became one of pop history's most famed outfits. At the ceremony, the group won two Brit Awards; Best British Video for "Say You'll Be There" and Best British Single for "Wannabe". In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one, making the Spice Girls the first group since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.
Girl Power!, the Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold out its initial print run of 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, One Hour of Girl Power was released; it sold 500,000 copies in the UK between April and June to become the best-selling pop video ever, and was eventually certified 13x Platinum. In May, Spice World, a film starring the group, was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live UK show for the Prince's Trust benefit concert. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Brown and then Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy. That same month, Virgin released Spice Girls Present... The Best Girl Power Album... Ever!, a multi-artist compilation album compiled by the group. The album peaked at number two on the UK Compilation Chart and was certified Gold by the BPI. At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single awards for "Wannabe".
Spice World began filming in June and wrapped in August. The film was to be set to the songs from the group's second studio album, but no songs had been written when filming began. The group thus had to do all the songwriting and recording at the same time as they were filming Spice World, resulting in a grueling schedule that left them exhausted. Among the songs that were written during this period was "Stop", the lyrics for which cover the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe". The MTV Awards came five days after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, with tributes paid to her throughout the ceremony. Chisholm stated, "We'd like to dedicate this award to Princess Diana, who is a great loss to our country." At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the group won four awards for New Artist of the Year, Billboard Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Billboard 200 Group of the Year and Billboard 200 Album of the Year for Spice.
1997–1998: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, making it the group's fifth consecutive number-one single. That same month, the group performed their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, they launched the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes." In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 14 million copies worldwide. Criticised in the United States for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there, which gave the group two simultaneous Top 10 albums in the Billboard album charts, and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed—over twenty in total—and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest-selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998.
On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and won the Best Group award. The morning of the performance, the Spice Girls had also fired their manager Simon Fuller and took over the running of the group themselves. To ensure a smooth transition, Halliwell allegedly stole a mobile phone from Fuller's assistant that contained the group's upcoming schedule and Fuller's business contacts. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction. Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released, becoming the group's second Christmas number one and their sixth consecutive number-one single in the UK. December also saw the group launch their film Spice World. The world premiere at the Empire Theatre in Leicester Square was attended by celebrities including Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry. The film was a commercial success but received poor reviews. The group ended 1997 as the year's most played artist on American radio.
In January 1998, the Spice Girls attended the US premiere of Spice World at the Mann's Chinese Theatre. At the 1998 American Music Awards a few days later, the group won the awards for Favorite Album, Favorite New Artist and Favorite Group in the pop/rock category. In February, they won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, with combined sales of over 45 million albums and singles worldwide. That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop", their first not to reach number one in United Kingdom, entering at number two. In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, starting in Dublin, Ireland, on 24 February 1998 before moving to mainland Europe and North America, and then returning to the United Kingdom for two gigs at Wembley Stadium. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World", the last song recorded with Halliwell until 2007.
On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls through her solicitor. The announcement was preceded by days of frenzied press speculation after Halliwell missed two concerts in Norway and was absent from the group's performance on The National Lottery Draws. Halliwell first cited creative differences, then later said that she was suffering from exhaustion and disillusionment, although rumours of a power struggle with Brown as the reason for her departure were circulated by the press. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year, making news headlines the world over. The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on. The North American leg of the Spiceworld Tour went on as planned, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 15 June, and grossing $60 million over 40 sold-out performances. The tour was accompanied by a documentary film titled Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story. "Viva Forever" was the last single released from Spiceworld and gave the group their seventh number one in the United Kingdom. The video for the single was made before Halliwell's departure and features all five members in stop-motion animated form.
1998–2000: Forever and hiatus
While on tour in the United States, the group continued to write and record new material, releasing a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri Halliwell, although parts of it had originally been written when Halliwell was still a part of the group, and when it topped the UK Singles Chart it became their third consecutive Christmas number one—equalling the record previously set by the Beatles. In November, Bunton and Chisholm appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other bandmates, accepting two awards on behalf of the Spice Girls for Best Pop Act and Best Group. That same year, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant. Brown was married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period; she gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. Adams gave birth a month after to son Brooklyn, whose father was then Manchester United footballer David Beckham; later that year, she married Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland.
From 1998 onwards, the Spice Girls began to pursue solo careers and by the following year, Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and former member Halliwell, had all released music as solo artists. The group returned to the studio in August 1999 after an eight-month recording break to start work on their third and last studio album. The album's sound was initially more pop-influenced, similar to their first two albums, and included production from Eliot Kennedy. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis came on board to collaborate with the group. In December 1999, the Spice Girls embarked on a UK-only tour, Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, during which they showcased new songs from the third album. Earlier in the year, the group also recorded the song "My Strongest Suit" for Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to become the musical Aida. The group performed again at the 2000 Brit Awards in March, where they received the Lifetime Achievement award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage.
In November 2000, the group released Forever; sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response from critics. In the US, the album peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In the UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife's Coast to Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media, with Westlife winning the battle and reaching number one, leaving the Spice Girls at number two. The lead single from Forever, the double A-side "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, and at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The only major performance of the lead single by the group came at the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In total, Forever achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling four million copies. The Spice Girls ceased all promotional activities for the album in December 2000, as they began an indefinite hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Publicly, they insisted that the group was not splitting.
2007–2008: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits
On 28 June 2007, the Spice Girls, including Halliwell, held a press conference at the O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite for a worldwide concert tour titled the Return of the Spice Girls. The plan to re-form had long been speculated by the media, with previous attempts by the organisers of Live 8 and Concert for Diana to reunite the group as a five-piece falling through. Each member of the group was reportedly paid £10 million ($20 million) to do the reunion tour. Giving You Everything, an official documentary film about the reunion, was directed by Bob Smeaton and first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007, followed by BBC One in the UK on 31 December.
Ticket sales for the first London date of the Return of the Spice Girls tour sold out in 38 seconds. It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website. Sixteen additional dates in London were added, all selling out within one minute. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added. It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. The tour opened in Vancouver on 2 December 2007, with group performing to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing outfits a total of eight times. Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.
The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls occurred at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, where they performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007. They also performed both songs live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles. The release of "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)" peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's lowest-charting British single to date. The album peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart. On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.
Overall, the 47-date tour was the highest-grossing concert act of 2007–2008, measured as the twelve months ending in April 2008. It produced some $107.2 million in ticket sales and merchandising, with sponsorship and ad deals bringing the total to $200 million. The tour's 17-night sellout stand at the O2 Arena in London was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, netting £16.5 million (US$33 million) and drawing an audience of 256,647, winning the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Top Boxscore. The group's comeback also netted them several other awards, including the Capital Music Icon Award, the Glamour Award for Best Band, and the Vodafone Live Music Award for Best Live Return, the last of which saw them beat out acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols.
2010–2012: Viva Forever! and London Olympics
At the 2010 Brit Awards, the Spice Girls received a special award for "Best Performance of the 30th Year". The award was for their 1997 Brit Awards performance of "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are", and was accepted by Halliwell and Brown on behalf of the group.
That year, the group collaborated with Fuller, Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to develop a Spice Girls stage musical, Viva Forever!. Similar to the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!, Viva Forever! used the group's music to create an original story. In June 2012, to promote the musical, the Spice Girls reunited for a press conference at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, where music video for "Wannabe" was filmed exactly sixteen years earlier. Viva Forever! premiered at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December 2012, with all five Spice Girls in attendance. To promote the musical, the group appeared in the documentary Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever!, which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1. Viva Forever! was panned by critics and closed after seven months, with a loss of at least £5 million.
In August 2012, the Spice Girls reunited to perform a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. Their performance received acclaim, and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets per minute on Twitter.
2016–present: Spice World tour and Spice25
On 8 July 2016, Brown, Bunton and Halliwell released a video celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Wannabe" and teased news from them as a three-piece. Beckham and Chisholm opted not to take part but gave the project their blessing. A new song from the three-piece, "Song for Her", was leaked online a few months later in November. The reunion project was cancelled due to Halliwell's pregnancy.
On 24 May 2019, the Spice Girls began the Spice World – 2019 Tour of the UK and Ireland at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland. Beckham declined to join due to commitments regarding her fashion business. Each of the four participating members was reportedly paid £12 million for the tour. The tour concluded with three concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, with the last taking place on 15 June 2019. Over 13 dates, the tour produced 700,000 spectators and earned $78.2 million in ticket sales. The three-night sellout stand at Wembley Stadium was the highest-grossing engagement of the year, drawing an audience of 221,971 and winning the 2019 Billboard Live Music Award for Top Boxscore. Despite sound problems in the early concerts, Anna Nicholson in The Guardian wrote, "As nostalgia tours go, this could hardly have been bettered."
Alongside the tour, the group teamed up with the children's book franchise Mr. Men to create derivative products such as books, cups, bags and coasters. On 13 June 2019, it was reported that Paramount Animation had greenlit an animated Spice Girls film with old and new songs. The project will be produced by Simon Fuller and written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith. A director has not been announced.
To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 29 October, the Spice Girls released Spice25, a deluxe reissue of Spice featuring previously unreleased demos and remixes. The deluxe release saw the album reenter the UK Albums Chart at number five, number three on the UK Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40 and number four on the UK Official Physical Albums Chart.
Artistry
Musical style
According to Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture." Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes, but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions. Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos." A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic". Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone. He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."
Lyrical themes
The Spice Girls' lyrics promote female empowerment and solidarity. Given the young age of their target audience, Lucy Jones of The Independent said the Spice Girls' songs were subversive for their time: "The lyrics were active rather than passive: taking, grabbing, laying it down – all the things little girls were taught never to do. 'Stop right now, thank you very much'. 'Who do you think you are?' 'I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want'." Musicologist Nicola Dibben cited "Say You'll Be There" as an example of how the Spice Girls inverted traditional gender roles in their lyrics, depicting a man who has fallen in love and displays too much emotion and a woman who remains independent and in control. The Spice Girls emphasised the importance of sisterhood over romance songs such as "Wannabe", and embraced safe sex in "2 Become 1".
Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?: How the Girl Power Generation Grew Up (2018), found that even when the Spice Girls sang about romance, the message was "cheerfully non-committal", in contrast to the songs about breakups and unrequited love other pop stars were singing at the time. Writing for Bustle, Taylor Ferber praised the female-driven lyrics as ahead of their time, citing the inclusivity and optimism of songs such as "Spice Up Your Life" and the sex-positivity of "Last Time Lover" and "Naked". Ferber concluded: "Between all of their songs about friendship, sex, romance, and living life, a central theme in almost all Spice Girls music was loving yourself first."
Vocal arrangements
Unlike prior pop vocal groups, the Spice Girls shared vocals, rather than having a lead vocalist supported by others. The group did not want any one member to be considered the lead singer, and so each song was divided into one or two lines each, before all five voices harmonised in the chorus. The group faced criticism as this meant that no one voice could stand out, but Sinclair concluded that it "was actually a clever device to ensure that they gained the maximum impact and mileage from their all-in-it-together girl-gang image".
The Spice Girls' former vocal coach, Pepi Lemer, described their individual voices as distinct and easy distinguish, citing the "lightness" of Bunton's voice and the "soulful sound" of Brown's and Chisholm's. Biographer Sean Smith cited Chisholm as the vocalist the group could not do without. Sinclair noted that while Chisholm's ad libs are a distinctive feature of certain Spice Girls songs, the difference in the amount of time her voice was featured over any other member was negligible.
While vocal time was distributed equally, musicologist Nicola Dibben found that there was an "interesting inequality" in the way that vocal styles were distributed within the group, which she felt conformed to certain stereotypes associated with race and socioeconomic background. According to Dibben, most of the declamatory style of singing in the group's singles were performed by Brown, the only black member, and Chisholm, whom Dibben classified as white working class; this was in contrast to the more lyrical sections allotted to Beckham, whom Dibben classified as white middle class.
Songwriting
The Spice Girls did not play instruments, but co-wrote all of their songs. According to their frequent collaborator Richard Stannard, they had two approaches to songwriting: ballads were written in a traditional way with the group sitting around a piano, while songs such as "Wannabe" were the result of tapping into their "mad" energy. Eliot Kennedy, another regular co-writer, said that songwriting sessions with the Spice Girls were "very quick and short". He described his experience working with them:
What I said to them was, "Look, I've got a chorus—check this out." And I'd sing them the chorus and the melody—no lyrics or anything—and straight away five pads and pencils came out and they were throwing lines at us. Ten minutes later, the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few things here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process. They were confident in what they were doing, throwing it out there.
Absolute's Paul Wilson recalled an experience whereby he and Watkins were responsible for writing the backing track and the group would then write the lyrics. Watkins added: "I wasn't an 18-year-old girl. They always had this weird ability to come up with phrases that you'd never heard of." He said the members would create dance routines at the same time as writing songs, and that they "They knew what they wanted to write about, right from day one. You couldn't force your musical ideas upon them."
From the onset, the Spice Girls established a strict 50–50 split of the publishing royalties between them and their songwriting collaborators. As with their vocal arrangements, they were also adamant on maintaining parity between themselves in the songwriting credits. Sinclair said:
The deal between themselves was a strict five-way split on their share of the songwriting royalties on all songs irrespective of what any one member of the group had (or had not) contributed to any particular song. Apart from ease of administration, this was also a symbolic expression of the unity which was so much part and parcel of the Spice philosophy.
Sinclair identified Halliwell as a major source of ideas for the Spice Girls' songs, including many of the concepts and starting points for the group's songs. Tim Hawes, who worked with the group when they were starting out, said Halliwell's strength was in writing lyrics and pop hooks, and estimated that she was responsible for 60–70% of the lyrics in the songs he worked on. The group's collaborators credit the other members of the group as being more active than Halliwell in constructing the melodies and harmonies of their songs. Matt Rowe, who wrote several songs with the Spice Girls, agreed that Halliwell was particularly good when it came to writing lyrics and credits the lyrics for "Viva Forever" to her. He felt that all five members had contributed equally to the songwriting.
Cultural impact and legacy
Pop music resurgence and girl group boom
The Spice Girls broke onto the music scene at a time when alternative rock, hip-hop and R&B dominated global music charts. In the group's first ever interview in May 1996, Halliwell told Music Week: "We want to bring some of the glamour back to pop, like Madonna had when we were growing up. Pop is about fantasy and escapism, but there's so much bullshit around at the moment." The modern pop phenomenon that the Spice Girls created by targeting early members of Generation Y was credited with changing the music landscape by reviving the pop music genre, bringing about the global wave of late-1990s and early-2000s teen pop acts such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and NSYNC.
The Spice Girls have also been credited with paving the way for the girl groups and female pop singers that have come after them. Unlike previous girl groups such as the Andrews Sisters whose target market was male record buyers, the Spice Girls redefined the girl group concept by going after a young female fanbase instead. In the UK, they are further credited for disrupting the then male-dominated pop music scene. Prior to the Spice Girls, girl groups such as Bananarama have had hit singles in the UK but their album sales were generally underwhelming. The accepted wisdom within the British music industry at the time was that an all-girl pop group would not work because both girls and boys would find the concept too threatening. Teen magazines such as Smash Hits and Top of the Pops initially refused to feature the Spice Girls on the assumption that a girl group would not appeal to their female readership. The massive commercial breakthrough of the Spice Girls turned the tide, leading to an unprecedented boom of new girl groups in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
As managers and record labels scrambled to find the next Spice Girls, around 20 new girl groups were launched in the UK in 1999, followed by another 35 the next year. Groups that emerged during this period include All Saints, B*Witched, Atomic Kitten, Girl Thing, Girls@Play, Girls Aloud and the Sugababes, all hoping to emulate the Spice Girls' success. Outside of the UK and Ireland, girl groups such as New Zealand's TrueBliss, Australia's Bardot, Germany's No Angels, US's Cheetah Girls, as well as South Korea's Baby Vox and f(x) were also modelled after the Spice Girls.
Twenty-first-century girl groups continue to cite the Spice Girls as a major source of influence, including the Pussycat Dolls, 2NE1, Girls' Generation, Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, and Haim. Solo female artists who have been similarly influenced by the group include Jess Glynne, Foxes, Alexandra Burke, Charli XCX, Rita Ora, Billie Eilish, and Beyoncé. During her 2005 "Reflections" concert series, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez performed a medley of five Spice Girls songs as a tribute to the band she says were a major influence on her music. Danish singer-songwriter MØ decided to pursue music after watching the Spice Girls on TV as a child, saying in a 2014 interview: "I have them and only them to thank—or to blame—for becoming a singer." 15-time Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Adele credits the Spice Girls as a major influence in regard to her love and passion for music, stating that "they made me what I am today".
Girl power
"Girl power" was a label for the particular facet of feminist empowerment embraced by the band, emphasising female confidence, individuality and the value of female friendship. The Spice Girls' particular approach to "girl power" was seen as a boisterous, independent, and sex-positive response to "lad culture." The phrase was regularly espoused by all five members—although most closely associated with Halliwell—and was often delivered with a peace sign. The "girl power" slogan was originally coined by US punk band Bikini Kill in 1991 and subsequently appeared in a few songs in the early and mid-1990s; most notably, it was the title of British pop duo Shampoo's 1996 single which Halliwell later said was her introduction to the phrase. Although the term did not originate with them, it was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 that "girl power" exploded onto the mainstream consciousness. According to Chisholm, the band were inspired to champion this cause as a result of the sexism they encountered when they were first starting out in the music business. Industry insiders credit Halliwell as being the author of the group's "girl power" manifesto, while Halliwell herself once spoke of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as being "the pioneer of our ideology."
In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band. The Spice Girls' brand of postfeminism was distinctive and its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women; by being politically neutral, it did not alienate consumers with different allegiances. Virgin's director of press Robert Sandall explained the novelty of the group: "There had never been a group of girls who were addressing themselves specifically to a female audience before." Similarly, John Harlow of The Sunday Times believed it was this "loyal[ty] to their sex" that set the Spice Girls apart from their predecessors, enabling them to win over young female fans where previous girl groups had struggled. While "girl power" put a name to a social phenomenon, it was met with mixed reactions. Some commentators credit the Spice Girls with reinvigorating mainstream feminism—popularised as "girl power"—in the 1990s, with their mantra serving as a gateway to feminism for their young fans. Conversely, critics dismiss it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic and accuse the group of commercialising the social movement. Regardless, "girl power" became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.
In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."
In keeping with their "girl power" manifesto, the Spice Girls' songs have been praised for their "genuinely empowering messages about friendship and sisterhood," which set them apart from the typical love songs their pop contemporaries were singing. Billboard magazine said their lyrics "demonstrated real, noncompetitive female friendship," adding that the messages the Spice Girls imparted have held up well compared to the lyrics sung by later girl groups such as the Pussycat Dolls. The group's debut single "Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations launched their #WhatIReallyReallyWant Global Goals campaign by filming a remake of the "Wannabe" music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which premiered on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world. In response to the remake, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
At the 43rd People's Choice Awards in 2017, Blake Lively dedicated her "Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress" award to "girl power" in her acceptance speech; she credited the Spice Girls, saying: "What was so neat about them was that they're all so distinctly different, and they were women, and they owned who they were, and that was my first introduction into girl power." In 2018, Rolling Stone named the Spice Girls' "girl power" ethos on The Millennial 100, a list of 100 people, music, cultural touchstones and movements that have shaped the Millennial generation. Writing in 2019 about the group's influence on what she called the "Spice Girls Generation", Caity Weaver of The New York Times concluded, "Marketing ploy or not, 'Girl power' had become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Cool Britannia
The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media in the 1990s and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and the new British prime minister Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and appealing, a driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.
Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American, pop music. This fact was underlined at the 1997 Brit Awards; the group won two awards but it was Halliwell's iconic red, white and blue Union Jack mini-dress that appeared in media coverage around the world, becoming an enduring image of "Cool Britannia". The Spice Girls were identified as part of another British Invasion of the US, and in 2016, Time acknowledged the Spice Girls as "arguably the most recognisable face" of "Cool Britannia".
Image, nicknames and fashion trends
The Spice Girls' image was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential. Instrumental to their range of appeal within this demographic was their five distinct personalities and styles, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. This rejection of a homogeneous group identity was a stark departure from previous groups such as the Beatles and the Supremes, and the Spice Girls model has since been used to style other pop groups such as One Direction.
The band's image was inadvertently bolstered by the nicknames bestowed on them by the British press. After a lunch with the Spice Girls in the wake of "Wannabes release, Peter Loraine, the then-editor of Top of the Pops magazine, and his editorial staff decided to devise nicknames for each member of the group based on their personalities. Loraine explained, "In the magazine we used silly language and came up with nicknames all the time so it came naturally to give them names that would be used by the magazine and its readers; it was never meant to be adopted globally." Shortly after using the nicknames in a magazine feature on the group, Loraine received calls from other British media outlets requesting permission to use them, and before long the nicknames were synonymous with the Spice Girls. Jennifer Cawthron, one of the magazine's staff writers, explained how the nicknames were chosen:
Victoria was 'Posh Spice', because she was wearing a Gucci-style mini dress and seemed pouty and reserved. Emma wore pigtails and sucked a lollipop, so obviously she was 'Baby Spice'. Mel C spent the whole time leaping around in her tracksuit, so we called her 'Sporty Spice'. I named Mel B 'Scary Spice' because she was so shouty. And Geri was 'Ginger Spice', simply because of her hair. Not much thought went into that one.
In a 2020 interview, Chisholm explained that the Spice Girls' image came about unintentionally when, after initially trying to coordinate their outfits as was expected of girl groups at the time, the group decided to just dress in their own individual styles. According to Chisholm, they "never thought too much more of it" until after "Wannabe" was released and the press gave them their nicknames. The group embraced the nicknames and grew into caricatures of themselves, which Chisholm said was "like a protection mechanism because it was like putting on this armour of being this, this character, rather than it actually being you."
Each Spice Girl adopted a distinct, over-the-top trademark style that served as an extension of her public persona.
Victoria Beckham (née Adams): As Posh Spice, she was known for her choppy brunette bob cut, reserved attitude, signature pout and form-fitting designer outfits (often a little black dress).
Melanie Brown: As Scary Spice, she was known for her "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, pierced tongue and bold manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits).
Emma Bunton: As Baby Spice, she was the youngest member of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore pastel (particularly pink) babydoll dresses and platform sneakers, had an innocent smile and a girly girl personality.
Melanie Chisholm: As Sporty Spice, she usually wore a tracksuit paired with athletic shoes, wore her long dark hair in a high ponytail, and sported tattoos coupled with a tough-girl attitude. She also showcased her athletic abilities on stage, such as by performing back handsprings and high kicks.
Geri Halliwell: As Ginger Spice, she was known for her bright red hair, feistiness, "glammed-up sex appeal" and flamboyant stage outfits. She was also identified by the media and those who worked with the Spice Girls as the leader of the group.
The Spice Girls are considered style icons of the 1990s; their image and styles becoming inextricably tied to the band's identity. They are credited with setting 1990s fashion trends such as Buffalo platform shoes and double bun hairstyles. Their styles have inspired other celebrities including Katy Perry, Charli XCX, and Bollywood actress Anushka Ranjan. Lady Gaga performed as Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) in high school talent shows and Emma Stone chose "Emma" name inspired by Emma Bunton after she previously use name Riley Stone. The group have also been noted for the memorable outfits they have worn, the most iconic being Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress was sold at a charity auction to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe for £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record at that time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.
Commercialisation and celebrity culture
At the height of Spicemania, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon. Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, they advertised for an unprecedented number of brands and became the most merchandised group in music history. The group were also a frequent feature of the global press. As a result, said biographer David Sinclair, "So great was the daily bombardment of Spice images and Spice product that it quickly became oppressive even to people who were well disposed towards the group." This was parodied in the video for their song "Spice Up Your Life", which depicts a futuristic dystopian city covered in billboards and adverts featuring the group. Similarly, the North American leg of their 1998 Spiceworld Tour introduced a whole new concert revenue stream when it became the first time advertising was used in a pop concert. Overall, the Spice Girls' earnings in the 1990s were on par with that of a medium-sized corporation thanks in large part to their marketing endeavours, with their global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.
In his analysis of the group's enduring influence on 21st-century popular culture, John Mckie of the BBC observed that while other stars had used brand endorsements in the past, "the Spice brand was the first to propel the success of the band". Christopher Barrett and Ben Cardew of Music Week credited Fuller's "ground-breaking" strategy of marketing the Spice Girls as a brand with revolutionising the pop music industry, "paving the way for everything from The White Stripes cameras to U2 iPods and Girls Aloud phones." Barrett further noted that pop music and brand synergy have become inextricably linked in the modern music industry, which he attributed to the "remarkable" impact of the Spice Girls. The Guardians Sylvia Patterson also wrote of what she called the group's true legacy: "[T]hey were the original pioneers of the band as brand, of pop as a ruthless marketing ruse, of the merchandising and sponsorship deals that have dominated commercial pop ever since."
The mainstream media embraced the Spice Girls at the peak of their success. The group received regular international press coverage and were constantly followed by paparazzi. Paul Gorman of Music Week said of the media interest in the Spice Girls in the late 1990s: "They inaugurated the era of cheesy celebrity obsession which pertains today. There is lineage from them to the Kardashianisation not only of the music industry, but the wider culture." The Irish Independent Tanya Sweeney agreed that "[t]he vapidity of paparazzi culture could probably be traced back to the Spice Girls' naked ambitions", while Mckie predicted that, "[f]or all that modern stars from Katy Perry to Lionel Messi exploit brand endorsements and attract tabloid coverage, the scale of the Spice Girls' breakthrough in 1996 is unlikely to be repeated—at least not by a music act."
1990s and gay icons
The Spice Girls have been labelled the biggest pop phenomenon of the 1990s due to the international record sales, iconic symbolism, global cultural influence and apparent omnipresence they held during the decade. The group appeared on the cover of the July 1997 edition of Rolling Stone accompanied with the headline, "Spice Girls Conquer the World". At the 2000 Brit Awards, the group received the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award in honour of their success in the global music scene in the 1990s. The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is partly attributed to their era-defining outfits, the most notable being the Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore at the 1997 Brit Awards. The dress has achieved iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture. The status of the Spice Girls as 1990s pop culture icons is also attributed to their vast marketing efforts and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. Their unprecedented appearances in adverts and the media solidified the group as a phenomenon—an icon of the decade and for British music.
A study conducted by the British Council in 2000 found that the Spice Girls were the second-best-known Britons internationally—only behind then-Prime Minister Tony Blair—and the best-known Britons in Asia. The group were featured in VH1's I Love the '90s and the sequel I Love the '90s: Part Deux; the series covered cultural moments from 1990s with the Spice Girls' rise to fame representing the year 1997, while Halliwell quitting the group represented 1998. In 2006, ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s with 80 per cent of the votes in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game Trivial Pursuit, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. The Spice Girls also ranked number ten in the E! TV special, The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled.
Some sources, especially those in the United Kingdom, regard the Spice Girls as gay icons. In a 2007 UK survey of more than 5,000 gay men and women, Beckham placed 12th and Halliwell placed 43rd in a ranking of the top 50 gay icons. Halliwell was the recipient of the Honorary Gay Award at the 2016 Attitude Awards and Chisholm was given the "Celebrity Ally" award at the 2021 British LGBT Awards, held in London in August. In a 2005 interview, Bunton attributed their large gay following to the group's fun-loving nature, open-mindedness and their love of fashion and dressing up. The LGBTQ magazine Gay Times credits the Spice Girls as having been "ferocious advocates of the community" throughout their whole career. According to Bunton, the LGBTQ community was a big influence on the group's music. A desire to be more inclusive also led the group to change the lyrics in "2 Become 1"; the lyric "Any deal that we endeavour/boys and girls feel good together" appears in their debut album but was changed to "Once again if we endeavour/love will bring us back together" for the single and music video release.
Portrayal in the media
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press. During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids. Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group. Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past. The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking. Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy. In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released, causing some scandal.
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press; for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom. In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry. That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life" in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest". Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls. In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.
Other brand ventures
Film
The group made their film debut in Spice World with director Bob Spiers. Meant to accompany their sophomore album, the style and content of the movie was in the same vein as the Beatles' films in the 1960s such as A Hard Day's Night. The light-hearted comedy, intended to capture the spirit of the Spice Girls, featured a plethora of stars including Richard E. Grant, Alan Cumming, Roger Moore, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elton John, Richard O'Brien, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf.
Spice World was released in December 1997 and proved to be a hit at the box office, taking in over $100 million worldwide. Despite being a commercial success, the film was widely panned by critics; the movie was nominated for seven awards at the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards where the Spice Girls collectively won the award for "Worst Actress". Considered a cult classic, several critics have reevaluated the film more positively in the years following its initial release. Since 2014, the Spice Bus, which was driven by Meat Loaf in the film, has been on permanent display at the Island Harbour Marina on the Isle of Wight, England.
Television
The Spice Girls have hosted and starred in various television specials. In November 1997, they became the first pop group to host ITV's An Audience with...; their show featured an all-female audience and was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the country's population. The group hosted the Christmas Day edition of Top of the Pops on BBC One in 1996. The following year, a special Christmas Eve edition of the BBC series was dedicated to them, titled "Spice Girls on Top of the Pops". The group have also starred in numerous MTV television specials, including Spice Girls: Girl Power A–Z and MTV Ultrasound, Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice. Their concerts have also been broadcast in various countries: Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997) was broadcast on ITV, Showtime, and Fox Family Channel; Spiceworld Tour (1998) was broadcast on Sky Box Office; and Christmas in Spiceworld (1999) was broadcast on Sky One and Fox Kids, among others.
The group have starred in television commercials for brands such as Pepsi, Polaroid, Walkers, Impulse and Tesco. They have also released a few official documentary films, including Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story (1999) and Giving You Everything (2007). Making-of documentaries for their film Spice World were broadcast on Channel 5 and MTV. The Spice Girls have been the subject of numerous unofficial documentary films, commissioned and produced by individuals independent of the group, including Raw Spice (2001) and Seven Days That Shook the Spice Girls (2002). The group have had episodes dedicated to them in several music biography series, including VH1's Behind the Music, E! True Hollywood Story and MTV's BioRhythm.
Merchandise and sponsorship deals
In the late 1990s, the Spice Girls were involved in a prolific marketing phenomenon that saw them become the most merchandised group in music history. They negotiated lucrative endorsement deals with numerous brands, including Pepsi, Asda, Cadbury and Target, which led to accusations of overexposure and "selling out". The group was estimated to have earned over £300 million ($500 million) from their marketing endeavours in 1997 alone. Their subsequent reunion concert tours saw the Spice Girls launch new sponsorship and advertising campaigns with the likes of Tesco and Victoria's Secret in 2007, and Walkers and Mr. Men in 2019.
Viva Forever!
Viva Forever! is a jukebox musical written by Jennifer Saunders, produced by Judy Craymer and directed by Paul Garrington. Based on the songs of the Spice Girls, the musical ran at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End from 11 December 2012 to 29 June 2013.
Career records and achievements
As a group, the Spice Girls have received a number of notable awards, including five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award and three World Music Awards. They have also been recognised for their songwriting achievements with two Ivor Novello Awards. In 2000, they received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, making them the youngest recipients of the Lifetime Achievement award whose previous winners include Elton John, the Beatles and Queen.
The Spice Girls are the biggest-selling British act of the 1990s, having comfortably outsold all of their peers including Oasis and the Prodigy. They are, by some estimates, the biggest-selling girl group of all time. They have sold 100 million records worldwide, achieving certified sales of 13 million albums in Europe, 14 million records in the US and 2.4 million in Canada. The group achieved the highest-charting debut for a UK group on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five with "Say You'll Be There". They are also the first British band since the Rolling Stones in 1975 to have two top-ten albums in the US Billboard 200 albums chart at the same time (Spice and Spiceworld). In addition to this, the Spice Girls also achieved the highest-ever annual earnings by an all-female group with an income of £29.6 million (approximately US$49 million) in 1998. In 1999, they ranked sixth in Forbes''' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking, which made them the highest-ranking musicians.
They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), the Beatles (seventeen) and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK ("2 Become 1", 1996; "Too Much", 1997; "Goodbye", 1998); they only share this record with the Beatles and LadBaby. Their first single, "Wannabe", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eleven, it is also the highest-ever-charting debut by a British band in the US, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act, tying with Alanis Morissette.Spice is the 18th-biggest-selling album of all time in the UK with over 3 million copies sold, and topped the charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, the most by a female group in the UK. It is also the biggest-selling album of all time by a girl group, with sales of over 23 million copies worldwide. Spiceworld shipped 7 million copies in just two weeks, including 1.4 million in Britain alone—the largest-ever shipment of an album over 14 days. They are also the first act (and so far only female act) to have their first six singles ("Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are", "Spice Up Your Life" and "Too Much") make number one on the UK charts. Their run was broken by "Stop", which peaked at number two in March 1998.
The Spice Girls have the highest-grossing concert tours by an all-female group across two decades (2000–2020), grossing nearly $150 million in ticket sales across 58 shows. They are also the most-merchandised group in music history. Their Spice Girls dolls are the best-selling celebrity dolls of all time with sales of over 11 million; the dolls were the second-best-selling toy, behind the Teletubbies, of 1998 in the US according to the trade publication Playthings. Their film, Spice World, broke the record for the highest-ever weekend debut on Super Bowl weekend (25 January 1998) in the US, with box office sales of $10,527,222. Spice World topped the UK video charts on its first week of release, selling over 55,000 copies on its first day in stores and 270,000 copies in the first week."'Spiceworld' To Shake Up U.K. Vid Chart?". Billboard. 28 May 1998. Retrieved 14 March 2006.
In popular culture
In February 1997, the "Sugar Lumps", a satirical version of the Spice Girls played by Kathy Burke, Dawn French, Llewella Gideon, Lulu and Jennifer Saunders, filmed a video for British charity Comic Relief. The video starts with the Sugar Lumps as schoolgirls who really want to become pop stars like the Spice Girls, and ends with them joining the group on stage, while dancing and lip-syncing the song "Who Do You Think You Are". The Sugar Lumps later joined the Spice Girls during their live performance of the song on Comic Relief's telethon Red Nose Day event in March 1997. In January 1998, a fight between animated versions of the Spice Girls and pop band Hanson was the headlining matchup in MTV's claymation parody Celebrity Deathmatch Deathbowl '98 special that aired during the Super Bowl XXXII halftime. The episode became the highest-rated special in the network's history and MTV turned the concept into a full-fledged television series soon after.
In March 2013, the Glee characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song "Wannabe" on the 17th episode of the fourth season of the show. In April 2016, the Italian variety show Laura & Paola on Rai 1 featured the hosts, Grammy Award-winning singer Laura Pausini and actress Paola Cortellesi, and their guests, Francesca Michielin, Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini, dressed up as the Spice Girls to perform a medley of Spice Girls songs as part of a 20th-anniversary tribute to the band. In December 2016, the episode "Who Needs Josh When You Have a Girl Group?" of the musical comedy-drama series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend featured cast members Rachel Bloom, Gabrielle Ruiz and Vella Lovell performing an original song titled "Friendtopia", a parody of the Spice Girls' songs and "girl power" philosophy. Rapper Aminé's 2017 single "Spice Girl" is a reference to the group, and the song's music video includes an appearance by Brown. Other songs that reference the Spice Girls include "Grigio Girls" by Lady Gaga, "My Name Is" by Eminem, "Polka Power!" (a reference to "Girl Power") by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Playinwitme" by Kyle and Kehlani, "Kinky" by Kesha, and "Spicy" by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX.
In the late 1990s, Spice Girls parodies appeared in various American sketch comedy shows including Saturday Night Live (SNL), Mad TV and All That. A January 1998 episode of SNL featured cast members, including guest host Sarah Michelle Gellar, impersonating the Spice Girls for two "An Important Message About ..." sketches. In September 1998, the show once again featured cast members, including guest host Cameron Diaz, impersonating the Spice Girls for a sketch titled "A Message from the Spice Girls". Nickelodeon's All That had recurring sketches with the fictional boy band "The Spice Boys", featuring cast members Nick Cannon as "Sweaty Spice", Kenan Thompson as "Spice Cube", Danny Tamberelli as "Hairy Spice", Josh Server as "Mumbly Spice", and a skeleton prop as "Dead Spice".
Parodies of the Spice Girls have also appeared in major advertising campaigns. In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalise on "Spice mania" in America by launching a national television campaign using a fictional girl group called the Spicy Crispy Chicks (a take off of the Spice Girls) to promote the new Spicy Crispy Sandwich. The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys'.*
At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humour. In 2001, prints adverts featuring a parody of the Spice Girls, along with other British music icons consisting of the Beatles, Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Rolling Stones, were used in the Eurostar national advertising campaign in France. The campaign won the award for Best Outdoor Campaign at the French advertising CDA awards. In September 2016, an Apple Music advert premiered during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards that featured comedian James Corden dressed up as various music icons including all five of the Spice Girls.
Other notable groups of people have been labelled as some variation of a play-on-words on the Spice Girls' name as an allusion to the band. In 1997, the term "Spice Boys" emerged in the British media as a term coined to characterise the "pop star" antics and lifestyles off the pitch of a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers that includes Jamie Redknapp, David James, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler and Jason McAteer. The label has stuck with these footballers ever since, with John Scales, one of the so-called Spice Boys, admitting in 2015 that, "We're the Spice Boys and it's something we have to accept because it will never change." In the Philippines, the "Spice Boys" tag was given to a group of young Congressmen of the House of Representatives who initiated the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. The Australian/British string quartet Bond were dubbed by the international press as the "Spice Girls of classical music" during their launch in 2000 due to their "sexy" image and classical crossover music that incorporated elements of pop and dance music. A spokeswoman for the quartet said in response to the comparisons, "In fact, they are much better looking than the Spice Girls. But we don't welcome comparisons. The Bond girls are proper musicians; they have paid their dues." The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) doubles team of Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, two-time Grand Slam and two-time WTA Finals Doubles champions, dubbed themselves the "Spice Girls of tennis" in 1999. Hingis and Kournikova, along with fellow WTA players Venus and Serena Williams, were also labelled the "Spice Girls of tennis", then later the "Spite Girls", by the media in the late 1990s due to their youthfulness, popularity and brashness.
Wax sculptures of the Spice Girls are currently on display at the famed Madame Tussaud's New York wax museum. The sculptures of the Spice Girls (sans Halliwell) were first unveiled in December 1999, making them the first pop band to be modelled as a group since the Beatles in 1964 at the time. A sculpture of Halliwell was later made in 2002, and was eventually displayed with the other Spice Girls' sculptures after Halliwell reunited with the band in 2007. Since 2008, Spiceworld: The Exhibition, a travelling exhibition of around 5,000 Spice Girls memorabilia and merchandise, has been shown in museums across the UK. The Spice Girls Exhibition, a collection of over 1,000 Spice Girls items owned by Alan Smith-Allison, was held at the Trakasol Cultural Centre in Limassol Marina, Cyprus in the summer of 2016. Wannabe 1996–2016: A Spice Girls Art Exhibition, an exhibition of Spice Girls-inspired art, was held at The Ballery in Berlin in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the group's debut single, "Wannabe".
Discography
Spice (1996)
Spiceworld (1997)
Forever'' (2000)
Concerts
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul (1997)
Spiceworld Tour (1998)
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour (1999)
The Return of the Spice Girls Tour (2007–08)
Spice World – 2019 Tour (2019)
Members
Victoria Beckham (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012)
Melanie Brown (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Emma Bunton (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Melanie Chisholm (1994–2000, 2007–2008, 2012, 2018–present)
Geri Halliwell (1994–1998, 2007–2008, 2012, 2016, 2018–present)
Timeline
Publications
Books
Magazines
See also
List of best-selling girl groups
List of awards received by the Spice Girls
Notes
References
Citations
Book references
External links
1994 establishments in England
1994 establishments in the United Kingdom
Brit Award winners
MTV Europe Music Award winners
English pop girl groups
English dance music groups
Dance-pop groups
Teen pop groups
Feminist musicians
Ivor Novello Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups disestablished in 2000
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical groups disestablished in 2008
Musical groups reestablished in 2018
Musical groups from London
Virgin Records artists
World Music Awards winners
English pop music groups
Golden Raspberry Award winners
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"How to Start a Fire is the second album by the Pompano Beach, Florida rock band Further Seems Forever, released in 2003 by Tooth & Nail Records. It was the band's only album with vocalist Jason Gleason, who had replaced original singer Chris Carrabba when the latter left the band to focus on his new project Dashboard Confessional. Gleason would leave the band the following year due to interpersonal tensions and be replaced by former Sense Field singer Jon Bunch. How to Start a Fire was also the band's first album with guitarist Derick Cordoba, replacing original guitarist Nick Dominguez.\n\nBackground and production\nFrontman Chris Carrabba left Further Seems Forever as his side project Dashboard Confessional was becoming popular. He returned briefly to record the group's debut album The Moon Is Down (2001), but left before its eventual release. Following this, the group enlisted former Affinity vocalist Jason Gleason as their frontman. His earliest recorded performances appeared on the Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer (2001) and Punk Goes Pop (2001) compilations. Guitarist Nick Dominguez was replaced by Derick Cordoba.\n\nRecording for How to Start a Fire started in June 2002, with sessions taking place at Wisner Productions. James Paul Wisner and Further Seems Forever served as producers; Wisner handled recording, engineering and mixing. Halfway through recording, the band toured as part of the Warped Tour in mid-2002, and later embarked on an east coast and midwestern US tour with Breaking Pangaea. After returning home, they spent another month recording. Alan Douches mastered the tracks at West West Side Mastering.\n\nComposition\nMusically, the sound of How to Start a Fire has been described as emo and indie rock, drawing comparisons to the Juliana Theory, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World and early Manic Street Preachers. The band operated in two modes for the album: louder tracks with angular guitar lines and harsh rhythm parts with catchy chorus sections, as displayed in the title-track and \"The Sound\"; and the softer mode, as shown in \"A Blank Page Empire\" and \"I Am\". It introduces string and piano instrumentation into the group's sound and showcases Gleason's vocal style, which was similar to Carrabba's albeit grainer. The lyrics focused on poetic imagery to convey the tone; Gleason offered a darker perspective, in comparison to Carabba, which was mainly pessimistic with overtones of hope. Wisner provided keyboard and additional guitar parts to the recordings.\n\nThe opening track \"How to Start a Fire\" starts with the sound of a struck match, shifting into a hardcore punk-indebted song. \"The Sound\" bounces between post-hardcore verse sections and harmony-infused chorus sections in the vein of Cheap Trick. \"A Blank Page Empire\" is an alternative blues shuffle track about dealing with the loss of a loved one, and was compared to The Moon Is Down track \"Snowbirds and Townies\". \"I Am\" is about questioning the viability of a strained relationship. It starts off partially acoustic before building to an electric ending, in the vein of \"For Evangeline\" by the Juliana Theory and The Moon Is Down number \"Monachett\". \"Pride War\" tackles the theme of egotism. \"On Legendary\" opens with an acoustic guitar intro. \"Insincerity as an Artform\" features the use of guitar harmonics. \"The Deep\" showcased Gleason's wider vocal abilities. The closing track \"Aurora Borealis (In Long Form)\" incorporates a string section alongside the loud guitars. Over the course of the near-five minute song, Gleason's voice changes from singing to screaming and back again.\n\nRelease\nIn August 2002, Further Seems Further went on a tour of Germany. In October and November 2002, the band went on tour across the US alongside New Found Glory, Something Corporate and Finch. How to Start a Fire was made available for streaming on January 14, 2003, before released through Tooth & Nail Records on February 11. In February and March, the band embarked on a headlining US tour, with support from Elliott, the Early November, the Rise, the Beautiful Mistake, Open Hand, and Twothirtyeight. The music video for \"The Sound\" was posted on MP4.com on March 10. Following this, they toured with the Ataris and the Juliana Theory on a two-month tour of the US. The band went on The Made Tour, which ran from June to August; they played alongside the Movielife, Autopilot Off, and Anberlin. In September, the band participated in the Take Action Tour. How to Start a Fire was released in the UK on October 13. Gleason left the band in early 2004, citing that they \"spent too much time\" together \"packed in a box\".\n\nFour of the album's tracks – \"Pride War\", \"Against My Better Judgement\", the title-track and \"The Sound\" – later appeared on the group's compilation album Hope This Finds You Well (2006). In 2016, the group went on tour playing How to Start a Fire with Gleason.\n\nReception\n\nHow to Start a Fire would go on to sell over 100,000 by 2013. Exclaim! ranked it at number six on their Best Punk Album of the year list. Christianity Today included the album at number 11 on their best Christian albums of the year list. Jesus Freak Hideout ranked it at number 18 on their list of the top 100 Tooth & Nail releases.\n\nCross Rhythms writer Tony Cummings said due to the \"smouldering vocals\" from Gleason, the \"exceptional light-and-shade dynamics\" from the group, combined with the \"inventive arrangements\", it stood as \"every bit the equal\" to The Moon Is Down. Christianity Today Andy Argyrakis said it was \"a fitting follow-up that presents the band in a tighter, more cohesive environment.\" AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus said Gleason aided the band in making \"a focused and fiery sophomore effort\" with \"a greater understanding of formula.\" Jesus Freak Hideout staff member Sherwin Frias said Gleason carried \"the same emotional style as his forebear\", which allowed the group \"to pick up right where it left off.\" The record \"has proven itself strong enough to stand apart from its predecessor's imposing shadow.\" Post-Bulletin found Gleason's \"more mature voice ... a much better fit for the band's music than Carrabba's whiny squeak.\" With the album, the group \"took a risk and the result is 10 great songs\" with them being \"finally poised to make a name with their music, not with their past.\" Rolling Stone reviewer Kristin Roth said it \"burns with incendiary power-pop guitar riffs and smolders with intensely emotive vocals\", with Gleason incorporating \"both a harder edge and a softer underbelly to the band's sound\".\n\nmusicOMH contributor Vik Bansal complimented the group's \"louder\" mode, \"although these songs definitely rock, they are never overbearingly aggressive\". The group infrequently \"over-elaborate with the rhythms and guitar patterns, and every now and again a little more rage would not go amiss.\" Stuart Green of Exclaim! said that while Gleason lacked Carrabba's lyricism, \"his contribution to this disc cannot be ignored. His torment and lovelorn angst is sincere and affecting.\" He found the tracks \"a little less complex\" than those on The Moon Is Down, \"although no less interesting.\" In a review for Punknews.org, staff member Scott Heisel asked the question \"So how did the band do?\" before answering himself with: \"Not bad. Not amazing, not great, but not bad.\" He elaborated that it was \"spotty\" with a \"feeling of deja vu tends to creep up throughout the album\". Arizona Daily Wildcat writer Adam Pugh said the addition of Gleason \"changed the whole concept of what the band was\" negatively, as they lacked \"the intensity of the first album and just sticks with mediocre lyrics and an endless barrage of cry-alongs.\" The Pitch Geoff Harkness criticized the band for \"rely[ing] on paint-by-numbers chord progressions\" with \"remedial lyrics ... that are scarred from a terminal case of hackney.\" He said the group \"might be able to overcome the loss of its original singer, but a second record that continues Fire trite tradition might as well be titled How to Extinguish a Career.\"\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by Further Seems Forever.\n\n\"How to Start a Fire\" – 2:51\n\"The Sound\" – 3:41\n\"A Blank Page Empire\" – 4:09\n\"Against My Better Judgement\" – 3:41\n\"I Am\" – 3:24\n\"Pride War\" – 3:04\n\"On Legendary\" – 3:40\n\"Insincerity as an Artform\" – 3:44\n\"The Deep\" – 3:46\n\"Aurora Borealis (In Long Form)\" – 4:50\n\nPersonnel\nPersonnel per booklet.\n\nFurther Seems Forever\n Jason Gleasonvocals\n Josh Colbertguitar\n Derick Cordobaguitar\n Chad Neptunebass\n Steve Kleisathdrums\n\nAdditional musicians\n James Paul Wisnerkeys, additional guitar\n\nProduction\n James Paul Wisnerproducer, recording, engineer, mixing\n Further Seems Foreverproducer, art direction, design\n Alan Douchesmastering\n Brandon Ebelexecutive producer\n Bill Powerexecutive producer\n David Rankinillustrations\n Alan Fergusonband photography\n Kris McCaddondesign\n\nReferences\nCitations\n\nSources\n\n \n\n2003 albums\nFurther Seems Forever albums\nTooth & Nail Records albums",
"The Away Days is a Turkish dream pop band formed in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2012 by Can Özen (vocals, guitar) and Sezer Koç (guitar, bas guitar), but the current line-up consists of Can Ozen and Orkun Atik.\n\nHistory\nFormed in 2012 by Oğuz Can Özen and Sezer Koç, the band released their debut EP, How Did It All Start, independently in late 2012. Following year, the band released their first music video, \"Galaxies\", and performed at South by Southwest festival, attracting international attention. In addition, the band performed at The Great Escape Festival and toured United Kingdom. The band also opened for artists such as Portishead, Paul Banks and Owen Pallett.\n\nIn 2014, the band released the singles \"Your Colour\" and \"Paris\" with respective music videos. The music videos were premiered by Clash and Spin, respectively.\n\nMusical style\nThe band's musical style has been described as \"dream pop\" and \"shoegazing.\" Clash magazine editor Robin Murray wrote that \"the band's material matches the citrus-sharp songcraft of School of Seven Bells with the whirlwind drumming of early Ride,\" while also noting that \"there's even a bit of Swervedriver's rock edge in there.\" Mischa Pearlman of The Guardian wrote: \"Turkish shoegaze might not be a major phenomenon, but given the breadth of their [The Away Days'] talent, it soon could be.\" Zachary Lipez of Vice described the band's style as \"a solid mix of 2006 Brooklyn, forever Flying Nun, and The La’s if they were mentored by the Reid brothers.\" The band's lyrics are sung entirely in English.\n\nOn the band's name, lead vocalist Oğuz Can Özen stated: \" We called the band The Away Days, not because we feel we don’t belong to Istanbul or Turkey, but because we don’t feel like belonging anywhere. And maybe Istanbul didn’t have a great deal of influence to our music, but it has been a great home for us.\" On the influences, Özen further stated: \"We [Özen and Koç] both listened to Selda and The Strokes when we were kids. But now, as we begin our twenties, we're trying to find some rare music influences through far east and India.\" He also listed Joy Division, The Stooges and The Smiths as personal influences.\n\nMembers\nCurrent members\nOğuz Can Özen – vocals, guitar\n\nDiscography\nAlbums\n Dreamed at Dawn (2017)\n\nEPs\n How Did It All Start (2012)\n THIS (2015)\n\nSingles\n \"Your Colour\" (2014)\n \"Paris\" (2014)\n \"Best Rebellious\" (2014)\n\"Paris (Portecho Remix)\" (2014)\n\"World Horizon\" (2016)\n\"Places to Go\" (2016)\n\"You Think You're High\" (2018)\n\"Designed\" (2019)\n\"Sadness Will Last Forever\" (2020)\n\nMusic videos\n \"Galaxies\" (2013)\n \"Your Colour\" (2014)\n \"Paris\" (2014)\n \"Sleep Well\" (2014)\n \"Best Rebellious\" (2015)\n \"Calm Your Eyes\" (2015)\n \"World Horizon\" (2016)\n\"White Whale\" (2017)\n\"Designed\" (2019)\n\nReferences\n\nMusical groups established in 2012\nTurkish indie rock groups\nShoegazing musical groups\nDream pop musical groups\nIndie pop groups\nMusical groups from Istanbul\nTurkish rock music groups\nMusical quintets\n2012 establishments in Turkey"
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"Frank Sinatra",
"Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941-1952)"
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C_e101f90c705f425d906b30efdbf86cdb_1
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When did Sinatra debut?
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When did Frank Sinatra debut in musical films?
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Frank Sinatra
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Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic towards his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers. In 1943 he had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures. In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1946, Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River. In 1949, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52". CANNOTANSWER
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Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers.
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Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally viewed as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide.
Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his film career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia.
While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". He led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He later married Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. After Sinatra's death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Early life
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—damage that remained for life. Due to his injuries at birth, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from cystic acne that further scarred his face and neck. Sinatra was raised in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven, and biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality traits and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, also ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.
Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien. He later worked for 24 years at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the player piano for spare change. During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as the "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows.
Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz, at a young age. He listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly, and idolized Bing Crosby. Sinatra's maternal uncle, Domenico, gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances. He left without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness". To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found Sinatra work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Garrick worked, and after that, Sinatra was a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He performed in local Hoboken social clubs such as The Cat's Meow and The Comedy Club, and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, who was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.
Music career
Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey (1935–1939)
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing at All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone but Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin", and "Every Day of My Life".
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with the group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, opening the show with "Stardust". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey". Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.
In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded over forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with "Say It" and "Imagination", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance was "I'll Never Smile Again", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include "Our Love Affair" and "Stardust" in 1940; "Oh! Look at Me Now", "Dolores", "Everything Happens to Me", and "This Love of Mine" in 1941; "Just as Though You Were There", "Take Me", and "There Are Such Things" in 1942; and "It Started All Over Again", "In the Blue of Evening", and "It's Always You" in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "Night and Day", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Song is You", and "Lamplighter's Serenade" at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited, you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".
After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby, but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying as Sinatra left, "I hope you fall on your ass", but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes. Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti, coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, holding a gun to his head. Upon leaving Dorsey, Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Up until his death in November 1956, Dorsey occasionally made biting comments about Sinatra to the press such as "he's the most fascinating man in the world, but don't put your hand in the cage".
Onset of Sinatramania and role in World War II (1942–1945)
By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans, and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944 only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and accost his person in the form of stealing clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow-tie.
Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943 during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All", which reached number 2 on June 2, and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he also made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba, and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released "You'll Never Know", "Close to You", "Sunday, Monday, or Always" and "People Will Say We're in Love" as singles. By the end of 1943 he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Bob Eberly, and Dick Haymes.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of a perforated eardrum. However, U.S. Army files reported that Sinatra was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint", but his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers. During one trip to Rome he met the Pope, who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944 Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Crosby's "White Christmas", and the following year he released "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", "Dream", and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" as singles.
Columbia years and career slump (1946–1952)
Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946 he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $93,000 a week.
In 1946 Sinatra released "Oh! What it Seemed to Be", "Day by Day", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Five Minutes More", and "The Coffee Song" as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness", and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning". He was soon selling 10million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase at the time, which consisted of teenage girls. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra, featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean?" and Harold Arlen's and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are". "Mam'selle", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund, Dick Haymes, Dennis Day, and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December he recorded "Sweet Lorraine" with the Metronome All-Stars, featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers, with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of the highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch".
Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, was originally released in 1948 as a 78rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church. By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeats annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby). and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat, who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life".
Though "The Hucklebuck" reached the top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including "Lover", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "It All Depends on You", on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!.
Cementing the low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans from a heart attack in January 1950 at 48. According to Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words", as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the bobbysoxers. Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke out in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and the destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he had met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to suffering a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which "absolutely destroyed him".
In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self absorption". Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks", but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers". Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's single-engine plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter, who had previously worked at the Copa in New York. Sinatra typically performed there three times a year, and later acquired a share in the hotel.
Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident at his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas he performed to half-filled houses of wildcatters and ranchers. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people in a 1,200-seat capacity venue turned up to see him. By April 1952 he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was also disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" the singer's records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as "If I Could Write a Book" in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now", was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith. Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson."
Career revival and the Capitol years (1953–1962)
The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase". On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You", Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity, Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle, an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, "I've Got the World on a String", Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!"
In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on the arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers, was released on January 4, 1954, and included "A Foggy Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "My Funny Valentine", "Violets for Your Furs" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No. 2 and was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single "Three Coins in the Fountain", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy!, which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included "Just One of Those Things", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Get Happy", and "All of Me". Swing Easy! was named Album of the Year by Billboard, and he was also named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard, DownBeat, and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world", and Riddle, who considered Sinatra "a perfectionist", offered equal praise of the singer, observing, "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempi, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable... there is still no one who can approach him."
In 1955 Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours, his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Mood Indigo", "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "When Your Lover Has Gone". According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood". Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year. Another collaboration with Riddle resulted in the development of Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, sometimes seen as one of his best albums, which was released in March 1956. It features a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, something which Sinatra paid meticulous care to, taking a reported 22 takes to perfect.
His February 1956 recording sessions inaugurated the studios at the Capitol Records Building, complete with a 56-piece symphonic orchestra. According to Granata his recordings of "Night and Day", "Oh! Look at Me Now" and "From This Moment On" revealed "powerful sexual overtones, stunningly achieved through the mounting tension and release of Sinatra's best-teasing vocal lines", while his recording of "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" in April demonstrated his "brilliance as a syncopational improviser". Riddle said that Sinatra took "particular delight" in singing "The Lady is a Tramp", commenting that he "always sang that song with a certain amount of salaciousness", making "cue tricks" with the lyrics. His penchant for conducting was displayed again in 1956's Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color, an instrumental album that has been interpreted to be a catharsis to his failed relationship with Gardner. Also that year, Sinatra sang at the Democratic National Convention, and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterwards at the Paramount Theatre.
In 1957, Sinatra released Close to You, A Swingin' Affair! and Where Are You?—his first album in stereo, with Gordon Jenkins. Granata considers "Close to You" to have been thematically his closest concept album to perfection during the "golden" era, and Nelson Riddle's finest work, which was "extremely progressive" by the standards of the day. It is structured like a three-act play, each commencing with the songs "With Every Breath I Take", "Blame It on My Youth" and "It Could Happen to You". For Granata, Sinatra's A Swingin' Affair! and swing music predecessor Songs for Swingin' Lovers! solidified "Sinatra's image as a 'swinger', from both a musical and visual standpoint". Buddy Collette considered the swing albums to have been heavily influenced by Sammy Davis Jr., and stated that when he worked with Sinatra in the mid-1960s he approached a song much differently than he had done in the early 1950s. On June 9, 1957, he performed in a 62-minute concert conducted by Riddle at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, his first appearance in Seattle since 1945. The recording was first released as a bootleg, but in 1999 Artanis Entertainment Group officially released it as the Sinatra '57 in Concert live album, after Sinatra's death. In 1958 Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour. It reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in its second week, remaining at the top for five weeks, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards. The title song, "Come Fly With Me", written especially for him, would become one of his best known standards. On May 29 he recorded seven songs in a single session, more than double the usual yield of a recording session, and an eighth was planned, "Lush Life", but Sinatra found it too technically demanding. In September, Sinatra released Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads which proved a huge commercial success, spending 120 weeks on Billboards album chart and peaking at No.1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of the "saloon song" segments of Sinatra's concerts.
In 1959, Sinatra released Come Dance with Me!, a highly successful, critically acclaimed album which stayed on Billboard's Pop album chart for 140 weeks, peaking at No. 2. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Arrangement for Billy May. He also released No One Cares in the same year, a collection of "brooding, lonely" torch songs, which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought was "nearly as good as its predecessor Where Are You?, but lacked the "lush" arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of Only the Lonely.
In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but had "assumed the position of il padrone in Hollywood". He was asked by 20th Century Fox to be the master of ceremonies at a luncheon attended by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on September 19, 1959. Nice 'n' Easy, a collection of ballads, topped the Billboard chart in October 1960 and remained in the charts for 86 weeks, winning critical plaudits. Granata noted the "lifelike ambient sound" quality of Nice and Easy, the perfection in the stereo balance, and the "bold, bright and snappy" sound of the band. He highlighted the "close, warm and sharp" feel of Sinatra's voice, particularly on the songs "September in the Rain", "I Concentrate on You", and "My Blue Heaven".
Reprise years (1961–1981)
Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol, and fell into a feud with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months. His first attempt at owning his own label was with his pursuit of buying declining jazz label, Verve Records, which ended once an initial agreement with Verve founder, Norman Granz, "failed to materialize." He decided to form his own label, Reprise Records and, in an effort to assert his new direction, temporarily parted with Riddle, May and Jenkins, working with other arrangers such as Neil Hefti, Don Costa, and Quincy Jones. Sinatra built the appeal of Reprise Records as one in which artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on Billboard. The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's The Warm Moods, Sammy Davis Jr.'s The Wham of Sam, Mavis River's Mavis and Joe E. Lewis's It is Now Post Time. During the initial years of Reprise, Sinatra was still under contract to record for Capitol, completing his contractual commitment with the release of Point of No Return, recorded over a two-day period on September 11 and 12, 1961.
In 1962, Sinatra released Sinatra and Strings, a set of standard ballads arranged by Don Costa, which became one of the most critically acclaimed works of Sinatra's entire Reprise period. Frank Jr., who was present during the recording, noted the "huge orchestra", which Nancy Sinatra stated "opened a whole new era" in pop music, with orchestras getting bigger, embracing a "lush string sound". Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones. The two became frequent performers together, and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.
In 1963, Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle. The concert was recorded on a motion picture scoring soundstage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed an optical signal onto 35mm film designed for movie soundtracks. Granata considers the album to have been "impeachable" [sic], "one of the very best of the Sinatra-Riddle ballad albums", in which Sinatra displayed an impressive vocal range, particularly in "Ol' Man River", in which he darkened the hue.
In 1964 the song "My Kind of Town" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra released Softly, as I Leave You, and collaborated with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring on America, I Hear You Singing, a collection of patriotic songs recorded as a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period. In 1961 and 1962 he went to Mexico, with the sole purpose of putting on performances for Mexican charities, and in July 1964 he was present for the dedication of the Frank Sinatra International Youth Center for Arab and Jewish children in Nazareth.
Sinatra's phenomenal success in 1965, coinciding with his 50th birthday, prompted Billboard to proclaim that he may have reached the "peak of his eminence". In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin played live in St. Louis to benefit Dismas House, a prisoner rehabilitation and training center with nationwide programs that in particular helped serve African Americans. The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. The album September of My Years was released September 1965, and went on to win the Grammy Award for best album of the year. Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist". One of the album's singles, "It Was a Very Good Year", won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male. A career anthology, A Man and His Music, followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys the following year.
In 1966 Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboards pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting. Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year, when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes, after a fight.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. He recorded one of his collaborations with Jobim, the Grammy-nominated album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, which was one of the best-selling albums of the year, behind the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to Santopietro the album "consists of an extraordinarily effective blend of bossa nova and slightly swinging jazz vocals, and succeeds in creating an unbroken mood of romance and regret". Writer Stan Cornyn wrote that Sinatra sang so softly on the album that it was comparable to the time that he suffered from a vocal hemorrhage in 1950.
Sinatra also released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K.. According to Granata, the recording of "Indian Summer" on the album was a favorite of Riddle's, noting the "contemplative mood [which] is heightened by a Johnny Hodges alto sax solo that will bring a tear to your eye". With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", using the melody of the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968. "My Way", Sinatra's best-known song on the Reprise label, was not an instant success, charting at No. 27 in the US and No. 5 in the UK, but it remained in the UK charts for 122 weeks, including 75 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 40, between April 1969 and September 1971, which was still a record in 2015. Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song, because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute", professing that he "hated boastfulness in others".
In an effort to maintain his commercial viability in the late 1960s, Sinatra would record works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), the Beatles ("Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides, Now") in 1969.
"Retirement" and return (1970–1981)
In 1970, Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio (of the Four Seasons) and lyrics by Jake Holmes. However, it sold a mere 30,000 copies that year and reached a peak chart position of 101. He left Caesars Palace in September that year after an incident where executive Sanford Waterman pulled a gun on him. He performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On November 2, 1970, Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund. He gave a "rousing" performance of "That's Life", and finished the concert with a Matt Dennis and Earl Brent song, "Angel Eyes" which he had recorded on the Only The Lonely album in 1958. He sang the last line."'Scuse me while I disappear." The spotlight went dark and he left the stage. He told LIFE journalist Thomas Thompson that "I've got things to do, like the first thing is not to do at all for eight months... maybe a year", while Barbara Sinatra later said that Sinatra had grown "tired of entertaining people, especially when all they really wanted were the same old tunes he had long ago become bored by". While he was in retirement, President Richard Nixon asked him to perform at a Young Voters Rally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20, 1972.
In 1973, Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album. The album, entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly. He initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing. That Christmas he performed at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and returned to Caesars Palace the following month in January 1974, despite previously vowing to perform there again [sic]. He began what Barbara Sinatra describes as a "massive comeback tour of the United States, Europe, the Far East and Australia". In July, while on a second tour of Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there– who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference– as "bums, parasites, fags, and buck-and-a-half hookers". After he was pressured to apologize, Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". Union actions cancelled concerts and grounded Sinatra's plane, essentially trapping him in Australia. In the end, Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, arranged for Sinatra to issue a written conciliatory note and a final concert that was televised to the nation. In October 1974 he appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month.
In 1975, Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days. In August he held several consecutive concerts at Lake Tahoe together with the newly-risen singer John Denver, who became a frequent collaborator. Sinatra had recorded Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "My Sweet Lady" for Sinatra & Company (1971), and according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request for his new grandchild, Angela. During the Labor Day weekend held in 1976, Sinatra was responsible for reuniting old friends and comedy partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis for the first time in nearly twenty years, when they performed at the "Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon". That year, the Friars Club selected him as the "Top Box Office Name of the Century", and he was given the Scopus Award by the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada.
Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s, and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him. He cancelled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados. In March, he performed in front of Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall in London, raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On March 14, he recorded with Nelson Riddle for the last time, recording the songs "Linda", "Sweet Loraine", and "Barbara". The two men had a major falling out, and later patched up their differences in January 1985 at a dinner organized for Ronald Reagan, when Sinatra asked Riddle to make another album with him. Riddle was ill at the time, and died that October, before they had a chance to record.
In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles. During a party at Caesars in 1979, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. That year, former President Gerald Ford awarded Sinatra the International Man of the Year Award, and he performed in front of the Egyptian pyramids for Anwar Sadat, which raised more than $500,000 for Sadat's wife's charities.
In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that features an array of songs from both the pre-rock era and rock era. It was the first studio album of Sinatra's to feature his touring pianist at the time, Vinnie Falcone, and was based on an idea by Sonny Burke. The album garnered six Grammy nominations– winning for best liner notes– and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, and spawned yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York". That year, as part of the Concert of the Americas, he performed in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which broke records for the "largest live paid audience ever recorded for a solo performer". The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that was praised for embodying the dark tone of his Capitol years. Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. President Lucas Mangope awarded Sinatra with the highest honor, the Order of the Leopard, and made him an honorary tribal chief.
Later career (1982–1998)
Santopietro stated that by the early 1980s, Sinatra's voice had "coarsened, losing much of its power and flexibility, but audiences didn't care". In 1982, he signed a $16million three-year deal with the Golden Nugget of Las Vegas. Kelley notes that by this period Sinatra's voice had grown "darker, tougher and loamier", but he "continued to captivate audiences with his immutable magic". She added that his baritone voice "sometimes cracked, but the gliding intonations still aroused the same raptures of delight as they had at the Paramount Theater". That year he made a reported further $1.3million from the Showtime television rights to his "Concert of the Americas" in the Dominican Republic, $1.6million for a concert series at Carnegie Hall, and $250,000 in just one evening at the Chicago Fest. He donated a lot of his earnings to charity. He put on a performance at the White House for the Italian prime minister, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.
Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James, President Reagan said in honoring his old friend that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow". On September 21, 1983, Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published. The book became a best-seller for "all the wrong reasons" and "the most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time", according to William Safire of The New York Times. Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life. According to Kelley, the family detested her and the book, which took its toll on Sinatra's health. Kelley says that Tina Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986. He was forced to drop the case on September 19, 1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about his views on censorship.
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. In 1986, Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail. Two years later, Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas. When Martin dropped out of the tour early on, a rift developed between them and the two never spoke again.
On June 6, 1988, Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album which was not released. He recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me A River", and other songs. Sinatra never completed the project, but take number 18 of "My Foolish Heart" may be heard in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995).
In 1990, Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony. Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991 and 84 in 1992 in seventeen different countries.
In 1993, Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album. The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.
During his tours in the early 1990s, his memory failed him at times during concerts, and he fainted onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March 1994. His final public concerts were held in Fukuoka Dome in Japan on December 19–20, 1994. The following year, Sinatra sang for the last time on February 25, 1995, before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss– the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, featuring performers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Natalie Cole and Salt-N-Pepa singing his songs. At the end of the program Sinatra performed on stage for the last time to sing the final notes of the "Theme from New York, New York" with an ensemble. In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Artistry
While Sinatra never learned how to read music well, he had a fine, natural understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. He could follow a lead sheet (simplified sheet music showing a song's basic structure) during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences. Granata states that some of the most accomplished classically trained musicians soon noticed his musical understanding, and remarked that Sinatra had a "sixth sense", which "demonstrated unusual proficiency when it came to detecting incorrect notes and sounds within the orchestra". Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters. His personal favorite was Ralph Vaughan Williams. He would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.
By the mid 1940s, such was his understanding of music that after hearing an air check of some compositions by Alec Wilder which were for strings and woodwinds, he became the conductor at Columbia Records for six of Wilder's compositions: "Air for Oboe", "Air for English Horn", "Air for Flute", "Air for Bassoon", "Slow Dance" and "Theme and Variations". The works, which combine elements of jazz and classical music, were considered by Wilder to have been among the finest renditions and recordings of his compositions, past or present. At one recording session with arranger Claus Ogerman and an orchestra, Sinatra heard "a couple of little strangers" in the string section, prompting Ogerman to make corrections to what were thought to be copyist's errors. Critic Gene Lees, a lyricist and the author of the words to the Jobim melody "This Happy Madness", expressed amazement when he heard Sinatra's recording of it on Sinatra & Company (1971), considering him to have delivered the lyrics to perfection.
Voice coach John Quinlan was impressed by Sinatra's vocal range, remarking, "He has far more voice than people think he has. He can vocalize to a B-flat on top in full voice, and he doesn't need a mic either". As a singer, early on he was primarily influenced by Bing Crosby, but later believed that Tony Bennett was "the best singer in the business". Bennett also praised Sinatra himself, claiming that as a performer, he had "perfected the art of intimacy." According to Nelson Riddle, Sinatra had a "fairly rangy voice", remarking that "His voice has a very strident, insistent sound in the top register, a smooth lyrical sound in the middle register, and a very tender sound in the low. His voice is built on infinite taste, with an overall inflection of sex. He points everything he does from a sexual standpoint". Despite his heavy New Jersey accent, according to Richard Schuller, when Sinatra sang his accent was barely detectable, with his diction becoming "precise" and articulation "meticulous". His timing was impeccable, allowing him, according to Charles L. Granata, to "toy with the rhythm of a melody, bringing tremendous excitement to his reading of a lyric". Tommy Dorsey observed that Sinatra would "take a musical phrase and play it all the way through seemingly without breathing for eight, ten, maybe sixteen bars". Dorsey was a considerable influence on Sinatra's techniques for his vocal phrasing with his own exceptional breath control on the trombone, and Sinatra regularly swam and held his breath underwater, thinking of song lyrics to increase his breathing power.
Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with a sense of uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament. Granata comments that Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others. On days when he felt that his voice was not right, he would know after only a few notes and would postpone the recording session until the following day, yet still pay his musicians. After a period of performing, Sinatra tired of singing a certain set of songs and was always looking for talented new songwriters and composers to work with. Once he found ones that he liked, he actively sought to work with them as often as he could, and made friends with many of them. He once told Sammy Cahn, who wrote songs for Anchors Aweigh, "if you're not there Monday, I'm not there Monday". Over the years he recorded 87 of Cahn's songs, of which 24 were composed by Jule Styne, and 43 by Jimmy Van Heusen. The Cahn-Styne partnership lasted from 1942 until 1954, when Van Heusen succeeded him as Sinatra's main composer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings. He would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record, and would keep an arranger in mind for each song. If it was a mellow love song, he would ask for Gordon Jenkins. If it was a "rhythm" number, he would think of Billy May, or perhaps Neil Hefti or some other favored arranger. Jenkins considered Sinatra's musical sense to be unerring. His changes to Riddle's charts would frustrate Riddle, yet he would usually concede that Sinatra's ideas were superior. Barbara Sinatra notes that Sinatra would almost always credit the songwriter at the end of each number, and would often make comments to the audience, such as "Isn't that a pretty ballad" or "Don't you think that's the most marvelous love song", delivered with "childlike delight". She states that after each show, Sinatra would be "in a buoyant, electrically charged mood, a post-show high that would take him hours to come down from as he quietly relived every note of the performance he'd just given".
Sinatra's split with Gardner in the fall of 1953 had a profound impact on the types of songs he sang and on his voice. He began to console himself in songs with a "brooding melancholy", such as "I'm a Fool to Want You", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "My One and Only Love" and "There Will Never Be Another You", which Riddle believed was the direct influence of Ava Gardner. Lahr comments that the new Sinatra was "not the gentle boy balladeer of the forties. Fragility had gone from his voice, to be replaced by a virile adult's sense of happiness and hurt". Author Granata considered Sinatra a "master of the art of recording", noting that his work in the studio "set him apart from other gifted vocalists". During his career he made over 1000 recordings. Recording sessions would typically last three hours, though Sinatra would always prepare for them by spending at least an hour by the piano beforehand to vocalize, followed by a short rehearsal with the orchestra to ensure the balance of sound. During his Columbia years Sinatra used an RCA 44 microphone, which Granata describes as "the 'old-fashioned' microphone which is closely associated with Sinatra's crooner image of the 1940s", though when performing on talk shows later he used a bullet-shaped RCA 77. At Capitol he used a Neumann U47, an "ultra-sensitive" microphone which better captured the timbre and tone of his voice.
In the 1950s, Sinatra's career was facilitated by developments in technology. Up to sixteen songs could now be held by the twelve-inch L.P., and this allowed Sinatra to use song in a novelistic way, turning each track in a kind of chapter, which built and counterpointed moods to illuminate a larger theme". Santopietro writes that through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, "Every Sinatra LP was a masterpiece of one sort of another, whether uptempo, torch song, or swingin' affairs. Track after track, the brilliant concept albums redefined the nature of pop vocal art".
Film career
Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941–1952)
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic about his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights (1941), singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers. He had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly (1943), making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". Next, he was given leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively (both 1944) for RKO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".
Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town (also 1949), playing a sailor on leave in New York City. The film remains rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
Career comeback and prime (1953–1959)
Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953) deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role which would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film. During production, Montgomery Clift became a close friend, and Sinatra later professed that he "learned more about acting from him than anybody I ever knew before". After several years of critical and commercial decline, his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world. His performance also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".
Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart (1954), and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly (also 1954).
Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). After roles in Guys and Dolls, and The Tender Trap (both 1955), Sinatra was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a medical student in Stanley Kramer's directorial début, Not as a Stranger (also 1955). During production, Sinatra got drunk with Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford and trashed Kramer's dressing room. Kramer vowed to never hire Sinatra again at the time, and later regretted casting him as a Spanish guerrilla leader in The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture. The public rushed to the cinemas to see Sinatra and Crosby together on-screen, and it ended up earning over $13million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing pictures of its year. He starred opposite Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak in George Sidney's Pal Joey (1957), Sinatra, for which he won for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Santopietro considers the scene in which Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to Hayworth to have been the finest moment of his film career. He next portrayed comedian Joe E. Lewis in The Joker Is Wild (also 1957); the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By 1958, Sinatra was one of the ten biggest box office draws in the United States, appearing with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running and Kings Go Forth (both 1958) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. "High Hopes", sung by Sinatra in the Frank Capra comedy, A Hole in the Head (1959), won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became a chart hit, lasting on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks.
Later career (1960–1980)
Due to an obligation he owed to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Henry King's Carousel (1956), Sinatra starred opposite Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan in Can-Can (1960). He earned $200,000 and 25% of the profits for the performance. Around the same time, he starred in the Las Vegas-set Ocean's 11 (also 1960), the first film to feature the Rat Pack together and the start of a "new era of screen cool" for Santopietro. Sinatra personally financed the film, and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000 respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period. He had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career. Vincent Canby, writing for the magazine Variety, found the portrayal of Sinatra's character to be "a wide-awake pro creating a straight, quietly humorous character of some sensitivity." He appeared with the Rat Pack in the western Sergeants 3 (also 1962), following it with 4 for Texas (1963). For his performance in Come Blow Your Horn (also 1963) adapted from the Neil Simon play, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor– Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Sinatra directed None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a major success, However, in the mid 1960s, Brad Dexter wanted to "breathe new life" into Sinatra's film career by helping him display the same professional pride in his films as he did his recordings. On one occasion, he gave Sinatra Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) to read, with the idea of making a film, but Sinatra thought it had no potential and did not understand a word.
In the late 1960s, Sinatra became known for playing detectives, including Tony Rome in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also played a similar role in The Detective (1968).
Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics. The following year, Sinatra received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and had intended to play Detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), but had to turn the role down due to developing Dupuytren's contracture in his hand. Sinatra's last major film role was opposite Faye Dunaway in Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin (1980). Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.
Television and radio career
After beginning on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show with the Hoboken Four in 1935, and later WNEW and WAAT in Jersey City, Sinatra became the star of radio shows of his own on NBC and CBS from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s. In 1942, Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work. By the end of 1942, he was named the "Most Popular Male Vocalist on Radio" in a DownBeat poll. Early on he frequently worked with The Andrews Sisters on radio, and they would appear as guests on each other's shows, as well as on many USO shows broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). He appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS. Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28, 1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day. Starting in September 1949, the BBD&O advertising agency produced a radio series starring Sinatra for Lucky Strike called Light Up Time– some 176 15-minute shows which featured Frank and Dorothy Kirsten singing– which lasted through to May 1950.
In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. Santopietro writes that Sinatra "simply never appeared fully at ease on his own television series, his edgy, impatient personality conveying a pent up energy on the verge of exploding". In 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune, portraying Rocco Fortunato (a.k.a. Rocky Fortune), a "footloose and fancy free" temporary worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbles into crime-solving. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954.
In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows. ABC agreed to allow Sinatra's Hobart Productions to keep 60% of the residuals, and bought stock in Sinatra's film production unit, Kent Productions, guaranteeing him $7million. Though an initial critical success upon its debut on October 18, 1957, it soon attracted negative reviews from Variety and The New Republic, and The Chicago Sun-Times thought that Sinatra and frequent guest Dean Martin "performed like a pair of adult delinquents", "sharing the same cigarette and leering at girls". In return, Sinatra later made numerous appearances on The Dean Martin Show and Martin's TV specials.
Sinatra's fourth and final Timex TV special, Welcome Home Elvis, was broadcast in March 1960, earning massive viewing figures. During the show, he performed a duet with Presley, who sang Sinatra's 1957 hit "Witchcraft" with the host performing the 1956 Presley classic "Love Me Tender". Sinatra had previously been highly critical of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in the 1950s, describing it as a "deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac" which "fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." A CBS News special about the singer's 50th birthday, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, was broadcast on November 16, 1965, and garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
According his musical collaboration with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967, Sinatra appeared in the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, which was broadcast on CBS on November 13. When Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he released both an album and appeared in a TV special named Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song-and-dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly. In the late 1970s, John Denver appeared as a guest in the Sinatra and Friends ABC-TV Special, singing "September Song" as a duet.
Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street (1977), cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film". Ten years later, he made a guest appearance opposite Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., playing a retired policeman who teams up with Selleck to find his granddaughter's murderer. Shot in January 1987, the episode aired on CBS on February 25.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy (born 1940), Frank Jr. (1944–2016) and Tina (born 1948), with his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (née Barbato, 1917–2018), to whom he was married from 1939 to 1951.
Sinatra had met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey in the summer of 1934, while working as a lifeguard. He agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" which led to his arrest. Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, and Joi Lansing.
Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957. It was a turbulent marriage with many well-publicized fights and altercations. The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.
Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962. He married Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966, a short marriage that ended with divorce in Mexico in August 1968. They remained close friends for life, and in a 2013 interview Farrow said that Sinatra might be the father of her son Ronan Farrow (born 1987). In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Nancy Sinatra dismissed the claim as "nonsense".
Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death. The couple married on July 11, 1976, at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, California, the estate of media magnate Walter Annenberg.
Sinatra was close friends with Jilly Rizzo, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, golfer Ken Venturi, comedian Pat Henry and baseball manager Leo Durocher. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music and attended concerts when he could. He swam daily in the Pacific Ocean, finding it to be therapeutic and giving him much-needed solitude. He often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived, and liked painting, reading, and building model railways.
Though Sinatra was critical of the Church on numerous occasions and had a pantheistic, Einstein-like view of God in his earlier life, he was inducted into the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1976, and he turned to Roman Catholicism for healing after his mother died in a plane crash in 1977. He died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.
Style and personality
Sinatra was known for his immaculate sense of style. He spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important, and that he was giving his very best to the audience. He was also obsessed with cleanliness—while with the Tommy Dorsey band he developed the nickname "Lady Macbeth", because of frequent showering and switching his outfits. His deep blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes".
For Santopietro, Sinatra was the personification of America in the 1950s: "cocky, eye on the main chance, optimistic, and full of the sense of possibility". Barbara Sinatra wrote, "A big part of Frank's thrill was the sense of danger that he exuded, an underlying, ever-present tension only those closest to him knew could be defused with humor". Cary Grant, a friend of Sinatra, stated that Sinatra was the "most honest person he'd ever met", who spoke "a simple truth, without artifice which scared people", and was often moved to tears by his performances. Jo-Caroll Dennison commented that he possessed "great inner strength", and that his energy and drive were "enormous". A workaholic, he reportedly only slept four hours a night on average. Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of mild to severe depression, stating to an interviewer in the 1950s that "I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation". Barbara Sinatra stated that he would "snap at anyone for the slightest misdemeanor", while Van Heusen said that when Sinatra got drunk it was "best to disappear".
Sinatra's mood swings often developed into violence, directed at people he felt had crossed him, particularly journalists who gave him scathing reviews, publicists, and photographers. According to Rojek he was "capable of deeply offensive behavior that smacked of a persecution complex". He received negative press for fights with Lee Mortimer in 1947, photographer Eddie Schisser in Houston in 1950, Judy Garland's publicist Jim Byron on the Sunset Strip in 1954, and for a confrontation with Washington Post journalist Maxine Cheshire in 1973, in which he implied that she was a cheap prostitute.
His feud with then-Chicago Sun Times columnist Mike Royko began when Royko wrote a column questioning why Chicago police offered free protection to Sinatra when the singer had his own security. Sinatra fired off an angry letter in response calling Royko a "pimp", and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupée. Royko auctioned the letter, the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The winner of the auction was Vie Carlson, mother of Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick. After appearing on Antiques Roadshow, Carlson consigned the letter to Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, which auctioned it in 2010.
Sinatra was also known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback. Kelley notes that when Lee J. Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come. In another instance, after an argument with manager Bobby Burns, rather than apologize, Sinatra bought him a brand new Cadillac.
Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime. Willie Moretti was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra". He was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, and the two men were seen playing golf together. Kelley quotes Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel, and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed. Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster Joseph Fischetti had been good friends from 1938 onward, and acted like "Sicilian brothers". She also states that Sinatra and Hank Sanicola were financial partners with Mickey Cohen in the gossip magazine Hollywood Night Life.
The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics, and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime. Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie".
In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, a casino hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line on the north shores of Lake Tahoe. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater which attracted his show business friends Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, Victor Borge, Joe E. Lewis, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters, and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel. Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily stripped by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises. Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands. That year, his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped but was eventually released unharmed. Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from Ronald Reagan.
Politics and activism
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward leader, and after meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, he subsequently heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 presidential election. According to Jo Carroll Silvers, in his younger years Sinatra had "ardent liberal" sympathies, and was "so concerned about poor people that he was always quoting Henry Wallace". He was outspoken against racism, particularly toward blacks and Italians, from early on. In November 1945 Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal. His comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a Communist, which he said was not true. In the 1948 presidential election, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Of all the U.S. presidents he associated with during his career, he was closest to John F. Kennedy. Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together. In January 1961 Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C., held on the evening before President Kennedy was sworn into office. After taking office, Kennedy decided to cut ties with Sinatra due, in part, to the singer's ties with the Mafia. His brother Robert, who was serving as Attorney General and was known for urging FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to conduct even more crackdowns on the Mafia, was even more distrustful of Sinatra.
In 1962, Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy, whom he first met in the 1950s, officially ended when Kennedy officially decided to remove Sinatra, who never shook off rumors of affiliation with the Mafia, from his "gang." Sinatra was snubbed by the President during his visit to Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived, when he decided to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby, due to FBI concerns about Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Despite also having ties with the Mafia, Crosby was not willing to give as many public hints as Sinatra. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he later smashed up with a sledgehammer upon being rejected. Despite the snub, when he learned of Kennedy's assassination he reportedly sobbed in his bedroom for three days.
Sinatra worked with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, and remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s. Although still a registered Democrat, Sinatra endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California in 1970. He officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election.
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan and donated $4million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously. In 1985, Reagan presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, remarking, "His love of country, his generosity for those less fortunate... make him one of our most remarkable and distinguished Americans."
Santopietro notes that Sinatra was a "lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes". He was awarded the Hollzer Memorial Award by the Los Angeles Jewish Community in 1949. He gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962, and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) to the Youth Center in Jerusalem. On November 1, 1972, he raised $6.5million in bond pledges for Israel, and was given the Medallion of Valor for his efforts. The Frank Sinatra Student Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was dedicated in his name in 1978. He owned a Jewish skullcap, known as a kippah or yarmulkah, which was sold as part of his wife's estate many years after his death.
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights. He blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children. Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s. At the Sands in 1955, Sinatra went against policy by inviting Nat King Cole into the dining room, and in 1961, after an incident where an African-American couple entered the lobby of the hotel and were blocked by the security guard, Sinatra and Davis forced the hotel management to begin hiring black waiters and busboys. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. According to his son, Frank Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore. When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues. Though he did much towards civil rights causes, it did not stop the occasional racial jibe from him and the other Rat Pack members toward Davis at concerts.
Death
Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, with his wife by his side after suffering two heart attacks. Sinatra was in ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He also suffered from dementia-like symptoms due to his usage of antidepressants. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and reported that his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her siblings (Frank Jr. and Nancy) had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for one minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit and his grave was adorned with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Legacy and honors
Robert Christgau referred to Sinatra as "the greatest singer of the 20th century". His popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. For Santopietro, Sinatra was the "greatest male pop singer in the history of America", who amassed "unprecedented power onscreen and off", and "seemed to exemplify the common man, an ethnic twentieth-century American male who reached the 'top of the heap', yet never forgot his roots". Santopietro argues that Sinatra created his own world, which he was able to dominate—his career was centred around power, perfecting the ability to capture an audience. Encyclopædia Britannica referred to Sinatra as "often hailed as the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music....Through his life and his art, he transcended the status of mere icon to become one of the most recognizable symbols of American culture."
Gus Levene commented that Sinatra's strength was that when it came to lyrics, telling a story musically, Sinatra displayed a "genius" ability and feeling, which with the "rare combination of voice and showmanship" made him the "original singer" which others who followed most tried to emulate. George Roberts, a trombonist in Sinatra's band, remarked that Sinatra had a "charisma, or whatever it is about him, that no one else had". Biographer Arnold Shaw considered that "If Las Vegas had not existed, Sinatra could have invented it". He quoted reporter James Bacon in saying that Sinatra was the "swinging image on which the town is built", adding that no other entertainer quite "embodied the glamour" associated with Las Vegas as him. Sinatra continues to be seen as one of the icons of the 20th century,
and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music. There are stars on east and west sides of the 1600 block of Vine Street respectively, and one on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.
In Sinatra's native Hoboken, he was awarded the Key to the City of by Mayor Fred M. De Sapio on October 30, 1947. In 2003 the city's main post office was rededicated in his honor. A bronze plaque, place two years before Sinatra’s death in 1998, marks the site of the house where he was born. There is also a marker in front of Hoboken Historical Museum, which has artifacts from his life and conducts Sinatra walking tours through the city. Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. On the waterfront is Frank Sinatra Park, where a bronze plaque was placed in 1989 upon its opening. A tall bronze statue of Sinatra dedicated in 2021 on December 12, the date of Sinatra's birthday in 1915.
A residence hall at Montclair State University in New Jersey was named in his honor.Other buildings named for Sinatra include the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem dedicated in 1978, and the Frank Sinatra Hall at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, dedicated in 2002. Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Sinatra which opened in 2008. Items of memorabilia from Sinatra's life and career are displayed at USC's Frank Sinatra Hall and Wynn Resort's Sinatra restaurant. Near the Las Vegas Strip is a road named Frank Sinatra Drive in his honor. The United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra in May 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death. The United States Congress passed a resolution introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.
Sinatra received three Honorary Degrees during his lifetime. In May 1976, he was invited to speak at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) graduation commencement held at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was at this commencement that he was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate litterarum humanarum by the university. During his speech, Sinatra stated that his education had come from "the school of hard knocks" and was suitably touched by the award. He went on to describe that "this is the first educational degree I have ever held in my hand. I will never forget what you have done for me today". A few years later in 1984 and 1985, Sinatra also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Film and television portrayals
Sinatra has been portrayed on numerous occasions in film and television. A television miniseries based on Sinatra's life, titled Sinatra, was aired by CBS in 1992. The series was directed by James Steven Sadwith, who won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone, and produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina.
Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack, 1998), James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, 2003), Dennis Hopper (The Night We Called It a Day, 2003), and Robert Knepper (My Way, 2012), and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. A biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese has long been planned. A 1998 episode of the BBC documentary series Arena, The Voice of the Century, focused on Sinatra. Alex Gibney directed a four-part biographical series on Sinatra, All or Nothing at All, for HBO in 2015. A musical tribute was aired on CBS television in December 2015 to mark Sinatra's centenary. Sinatra was also portrayed by Rico Simonini in the 2018 feature film Frank & Ava, which is based on a play by Willard Manus.
Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".
In December 2020, it was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will portray Frank Sinatra in Reagan, a biopic of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Discography
The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)
Songs by Sinatra (1947)
Christmas Songs by Sinatra (1948)
Frankly Sentimental (1949)
Dedicated to You (1950)
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (1950)
Songs for Young Lovers (1954)
Swing Easy! (1954)
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956)
Close to You (1957)
A Swingin' Affair! (1957)
Where Are You? (1957)
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)
Come Fly with Me (1958)
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
Come Dance with Me! (1959)
No One Cares (1959)
Nice 'n' Easy (1960)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (1961)
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Come Swing with Me! (1961)
Swing Along With Me (1961)
I Remember Tommy (1961)
Sinatra and Strings (1962)
Point of No Return (1962)
Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (1962)
All Alone (1962)
Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (1962)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First with Count Basie (1962)
The Concert Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra's Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
Softly, as I Leave You (1964)
September of My Years (1965)
My Kind of Broadway (1965)
A Man and His Music (1965)
Moonlight Sinatra (1966)
Strangers in the Night (1966)
That's Life (1966)
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
The World We Knew (1967)
Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington (1968)
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas with Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra (1968)
Cycles (1968)
My Way (1969)
A Man Alone (1969)
Watertown (1970)
Sinatra & Company with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1971)
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973)
Some Nice Things I've Missed (1974)
Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
She Shot Me Down (1981)
L.A. Is My Lady (1984)
Duets (1993)
Duets II (1994)
See also
Frank Sinatra bibliography
Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy
The Frank Sinatra Show (radio program)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Freedland, Michael (1998). All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra. St. Martin's Press.
Kaplan, James (2015). Sinatra: The chairman. New York: Doubleday.
Pickard, Roy (1994). Frank Sinatra at the Movies. Hale.
External links
Sinatra family website
Frank Sinatra webradio
Sinatra at the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Frank Sinatra at FBI Records: The Vault
The Sinatra Report, a special section of Billboard's November 20, 1965, issue – beginning immediately after page 34
"Sinatra in Retrospective, Parts 1 and 2," WXXI Public Broadcasting, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Frank Sinatra at Find a Grave
Frank Sinatra
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[
"Bill Miller (February 3, 1915 – July 11, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, who accompanied Frank Sinatra for more than 50 years, and for the last eight years of his life, accompanied Frank Sinatra Jr.\n\nLife and career\nMiller was born in Brooklyn, New York. Performing with Red Norvo, Mildred Bailey and Charlie Barnet in the 1930s, Miller also performed with Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman.\n\nFirst meeting Sinatra in 1941, they did not work together until November 1951, when Miller was performing in the lounge of the Desert Inn, in Las Vegas. Sinatra was having difficulty holding on to pianists, and it was Jimmy Van Heusen who recommended Miller to Sinatra.\n\nMiller's house was destroyed in a 1964 mudslide in Burbank, California, which also claimed the life of his wife, Aimee. He was abruptly dismissed for no apparent reason by Sinatra in 1978, but was invited back in 1985.\n\nSinatra died in 1998, and Miller performed \"One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)\" at his funeral. He retired for three years, and then came out of retirement to work for Sinatra's son, Frank Sinatra, Jr.\n\nBill Miller also played on the recreation of Silent Night, re-recorded after Sinatra's death with a full orchestra.\n\nMiller died \"on the road\", while touring with Sinatra, Jr., from complications following a heart attack, at Montreal General Hospital at age 91.\n\nSelected discography\nwith Buddy Collette\nBuddy Collette's Swinging Shepherds (EmArcy, 1958)\nAt the Cinema! (Mercury, 1959)\nwith Frank Sinatra\nSongs for Young Lovers (1954)\nIn the Wee Small Hours (1955)\nFrank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)\nSinatra & Sextet: Live in Paris (1962)\nSinatra At The Sands (1966)\nCycles (1968)\nThe Main Event – Live (1974)\nDuets (1993)\nDuets II (1994)\nSinatra: Vegas (2006)\nSinatra: New York (2009)\nLive at the Meadowlands (2009)\nSinatra: London (2014)\nUltimate Sinatra (2015)\nwith Robbie Williams\nSwing When You're Winning (2001)\n Frank Sinatra with the Red Norvo Quintet: Live in Australia, 1959\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n 1970 interview with Miller\n Allboutjazz obituary\n Army Archerd obituary\n New York Sun obituary\n Npr.org obituary\n Washington Post obituary\n\nAmerican pianists\n1915 births\n2006 deaths\nMusicians from Brooklyn\nAmerican male pianists\n20th-century American male musicians",
"\"Mama Will Bark\" is a novelty song written by Dick Manning and recorded as a duet between Frank Sinatra and Dagmar in 1951.\n\nWhen buxom hostess Dagmar appeared on Sinatra's CBS-TV show on April 7, 1951, Columbia Records A&R head Mitch Miller became intrigued by the comic chemistry he perceived between the unlikely duo. With that in mind, songwriter Dick Manning (who would later compose such hits as \"Fascination\") penned \"Mama Will Bark\", which featured off-key talking/singing by Dagmar and sound effects of dogs barking. Miller produced the session on May 10, 1951, and the song was released the following month.\n\n\"Mama Will Bark\" is commonly cited as an emblematic low point in Sinatra's troubled later years at Columbia. Many Sinatra fans call it his worst recording ever, and place the blame for it squarely on the head of Mitch Miller. In Will Friedwald's book Sinatra! The Song is You, Miller insisted that \"nobody brings Sinatra in the studio [to do something] that he doesn't want to do. Then, he had the right to okay its release.\" Sinatra himself later said of the song: \"The only good it did me was with the dogs.\" Nonetheless, the single (which did not receive an album release) was a hit, nearly reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard singles chart, peaking at #21. Many DJs \"flipped over\" the record in favor of the B-side, \"I'm a Fool to Want You\" (which reached #14 on the Billboard charts).\n\nReferences\n\n1951 singles\nFrank Sinatra songs\nNovelty songs\nMale–female vocal duets\nSongs about dogs"
] |
[
"Frank Sinatra",
"Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941-1952)",
"When did Sinatra debut?",
"Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing \"I'll Never Smile Again\" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers."
] |
C_e101f90c705f425d906b30efdbf86cdb_1
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When did he hit his slump
| 2 |
When did Frank Sinatra hit his career slump?
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Frank Sinatra
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Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic towards his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers. In 1943 he had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures. In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1946, Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River. In 1949, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52". CANNOTANSWER
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The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
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Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally viewed as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide.
Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his film career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia.
While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". He led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He later married Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. After Sinatra's death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Early life
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—damage that remained for life. Due to his injuries at birth, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from cystic acne that further scarred his face and neck. Sinatra was raised in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven, and biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality traits and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, also ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.
Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien. He later worked for 24 years at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the player piano for spare change. During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as the "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows.
Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz, at a young age. He listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly, and idolized Bing Crosby. Sinatra's maternal uncle, Domenico, gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances. He left without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness". To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found Sinatra work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Garrick worked, and after that, Sinatra was a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He performed in local Hoboken social clubs such as The Cat's Meow and The Comedy Club, and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, who was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.
Music career
Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey (1935–1939)
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing at All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone but Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin", and "Every Day of My Life".
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with the group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, opening the show with "Stardust". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey". Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.
In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded over forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with "Say It" and "Imagination", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance was "I'll Never Smile Again", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include "Our Love Affair" and "Stardust" in 1940; "Oh! Look at Me Now", "Dolores", "Everything Happens to Me", and "This Love of Mine" in 1941; "Just as Though You Were There", "Take Me", and "There Are Such Things" in 1942; and "It Started All Over Again", "In the Blue of Evening", and "It's Always You" in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "Night and Day", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Song is You", and "Lamplighter's Serenade" at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited, you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".
After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby, but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying as Sinatra left, "I hope you fall on your ass", but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes. Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti, coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, holding a gun to his head. Upon leaving Dorsey, Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Up until his death in November 1956, Dorsey occasionally made biting comments about Sinatra to the press such as "he's the most fascinating man in the world, but don't put your hand in the cage".
Onset of Sinatramania and role in World War II (1942–1945)
By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans, and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944 only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and accost his person in the form of stealing clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow-tie.
Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943 during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All", which reached number 2 on June 2, and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he also made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba, and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released "You'll Never Know", "Close to You", "Sunday, Monday, or Always" and "People Will Say We're in Love" as singles. By the end of 1943 he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Bob Eberly, and Dick Haymes.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of a perforated eardrum. However, U.S. Army files reported that Sinatra was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint", but his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers. During one trip to Rome he met the Pope, who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944 Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Crosby's "White Christmas", and the following year he released "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", "Dream", and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" as singles.
Columbia years and career slump (1946–1952)
Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946 he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $93,000 a week.
In 1946 Sinatra released "Oh! What it Seemed to Be", "Day by Day", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Five Minutes More", and "The Coffee Song" as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness", and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning". He was soon selling 10million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase at the time, which consisted of teenage girls. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra, featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean?" and Harold Arlen's and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are". "Mam'selle", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund, Dick Haymes, Dennis Day, and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December he recorded "Sweet Lorraine" with the Metronome All-Stars, featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers, with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of the highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch".
Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, was originally released in 1948 as a 78rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church. By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeats annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby). and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat, who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life".
Though "The Hucklebuck" reached the top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including "Lover", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "It All Depends on You", on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!.
Cementing the low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans from a heart attack in January 1950 at 48. According to Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words", as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the bobbysoxers. Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke out in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and the destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he had met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to suffering a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which "absolutely destroyed him".
In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self absorption". Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks", but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers". Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's single-engine plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter, who had previously worked at the Copa in New York. Sinatra typically performed there three times a year, and later acquired a share in the hotel.
Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident at his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas he performed to half-filled houses of wildcatters and ranchers. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people in a 1,200-seat capacity venue turned up to see him. By April 1952 he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was also disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" the singer's records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as "If I Could Write a Book" in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now", was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith. Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson."
Career revival and the Capitol years (1953–1962)
The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase". On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You", Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity, Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle, an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, "I've Got the World on a String", Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!"
In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on the arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers, was released on January 4, 1954, and included "A Foggy Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "My Funny Valentine", "Violets for Your Furs" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No. 2 and was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single "Three Coins in the Fountain", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy!, which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included "Just One of Those Things", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Get Happy", and "All of Me". Swing Easy! was named Album of the Year by Billboard, and he was also named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard, DownBeat, and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world", and Riddle, who considered Sinatra "a perfectionist", offered equal praise of the singer, observing, "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempi, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable... there is still no one who can approach him."
In 1955 Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours, his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Mood Indigo", "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "When Your Lover Has Gone". According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood". Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year. Another collaboration with Riddle resulted in the development of Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, sometimes seen as one of his best albums, which was released in March 1956. It features a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, something which Sinatra paid meticulous care to, taking a reported 22 takes to perfect.
His February 1956 recording sessions inaugurated the studios at the Capitol Records Building, complete with a 56-piece symphonic orchestra. According to Granata his recordings of "Night and Day", "Oh! Look at Me Now" and "From This Moment On" revealed "powerful sexual overtones, stunningly achieved through the mounting tension and release of Sinatra's best-teasing vocal lines", while his recording of "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" in April demonstrated his "brilliance as a syncopational improviser". Riddle said that Sinatra took "particular delight" in singing "The Lady is a Tramp", commenting that he "always sang that song with a certain amount of salaciousness", making "cue tricks" with the lyrics. His penchant for conducting was displayed again in 1956's Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color, an instrumental album that has been interpreted to be a catharsis to his failed relationship with Gardner. Also that year, Sinatra sang at the Democratic National Convention, and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterwards at the Paramount Theatre.
In 1957, Sinatra released Close to You, A Swingin' Affair! and Where Are You?—his first album in stereo, with Gordon Jenkins. Granata considers "Close to You" to have been thematically his closest concept album to perfection during the "golden" era, and Nelson Riddle's finest work, which was "extremely progressive" by the standards of the day. It is structured like a three-act play, each commencing with the songs "With Every Breath I Take", "Blame It on My Youth" and "It Could Happen to You". For Granata, Sinatra's A Swingin' Affair! and swing music predecessor Songs for Swingin' Lovers! solidified "Sinatra's image as a 'swinger', from both a musical and visual standpoint". Buddy Collette considered the swing albums to have been heavily influenced by Sammy Davis Jr., and stated that when he worked with Sinatra in the mid-1960s he approached a song much differently than he had done in the early 1950s. On June 9, 1957, he performed in a 62-minute concert conducted by Riddle at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, his first appearance in Seattle since 1945. The recording was first released as a bootleg, but in 1999 Artanis Entertainment Group officially released it as the Sinatra '57 in Concert live album, after Sinatra's death. In 1958 Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour. It reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in its second week, remaining at the top for five weeks, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards. The title song, "Come Fly With Me", written especially for him, would become one of his best known standards. On May 29 he recorded seven songs in a single session, more than double the usual yield of a recording session, and an eighth was planned, "Lush Life", but Sinatra found it too technically demanding. In September, Sinatra released Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads which proved a huge commercial success, spending 120 weeks on Billboards album chart and peaking at No.1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of the "saloon song" segments of Sinatra's concerts.
In 1959, Sinatra released Come Dance with Me!, a highly successful, critically acclaimed album which stayed on Billboard's Pop album chart for 140 weeks, peaking at No. 2. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Arrangement for Billy May. He also released No One Cares in the same year, a collection of "brooding, lonely" torch songs, which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought was "nearly as good as its predecessor Where Are You?, but lacked the "lush" arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of Only the Lonely.
In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but had "assumed the position of il padrone in Hollywood". He was asked by 20th Century Fox to be the master of ceremonies at a luncheon attended by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on September 19, 1959. Nice 'n' Easy, a collection of ballads, topped the Billboard chart in October 1960 and remained in the charts for 86 weeks, winning critical plaudits. Granata noted the "lifelike ambient sound" quality of Nice and Easy, the perfection in the stereo balance, and the "bold, bright and snappy" sound of the band. He highlighted the "close, warm and sharp" feel of Sinatra's voice, particularly on the songs "September in the Rain", "I Concentrate on You", and "My Blue Heaven".
Reprise years (1961–1981)
Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol, and fell into a feud with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months. His first attempt at owning his own label was with his pursuit of buying declining jazz label, Verve Records, which ended once an initial agreement with Verve founder, Norman Granz, "failed to materialize." He decided to form his own label, Reprise Records and, in an effort to assert his new direction, temporarily parted with Riddle, May and Jenkins, working with other arrangers such as Neil Hefti, Don Costa, and Quincy Jones. Sinatra built the appeal of Reprise Records as one in which artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on Billboard. The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's The Warm Moods, Sammy Davis Jr.'s The Wham of Sam, Mavis River's Mavis and Joe E. Lewis's It is Now Post Time. During the initial years of Reprise, Sinatra was still under contract to record for Capitol, completing his contractual commitment with the release of Point of No Return, recorded over a two-day period on September 11 and 12, 1961.
In 1962, Sinatra released Sinatra and Strings, a set of standard ballads arranged by Don Costa, which became one of the most critically acclaimed works of Sinatra's entire Reprise period. Frank Jr., who was present during the recording, noted the "huge orchestra", which Nancy Sinatra stated "opened a whole new era" in pop music, with orchestras getting bigger, embracing a "lush string sound". Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones. The two became frequent performers together, and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.
In 1963, Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle. The concert was recorded on a motion picture scoring soundstage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed an optical signal onto 35mm film designed for movie soundtracks. Granata considers the album to have been "impeachable" [sic], "one of the very best of the Sinatra-Riddle ballad albums", in which Sinatra displayed an impressive vocal range, particularly in "Ol' Man River", in which he darkened the hue.
In 1964 the song "My Kind of Town" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra released Softly, as I Leave You, and collaborated with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring on America, I Hear You Singing, a collection of patriotic songs recorded as a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period. In 1961 and 1962 he went to Mexico, with the sole purpose of putting on performances for Mexican charities, and in July 1964 he was present for the dedication of the Frank Sinatra International Youth Center for Arab and Jewish children in Nazareth.
Sinatra's phenomenal success in 1965, coinciding with his 50th birthday, prompted Billboard to proclaim that he may have reached the "peak of his eminence". In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin played live in St. Louis to benefit Dismas House, a prisoner rehabilitation and training center with nationwide programs that in particular helped serve African Americans. The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. The album September of My Years was released September 1965, and went on to win the Grammy Award for best album of the year. Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist". One of the album's singles, "It Was a Very Good Year", won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male. A career anthology, A Man and His Music, followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys the following year.
In 1966 Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboards pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting. Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year, when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes, after a fight.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. He recorded one of his collaborations with Jobim, the Grammy-nominated album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, which was one of the best-selling albums of the year, behind the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to Santopietro the album "consists of an extraordinarily effective blend of bossa nova and slightly swinging jazz vocals, and succeeds in creating an unbroken mood of romance and regret". Writer Stan Cornyn wrote that Sinatra sang so softly on the album that it was comparable to the time that he suffered from a vocal hemorrhage in 1950.
Sinatra also released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K.. According to Granata, the recording of "Indian Summer" on the album was a favorite of Riddle's, noting the "contemplative mood [which] is heightened by a Johnny Hodges alto sax solo that will bring a tear to your eye". With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", using the melody of the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968. "My Way", Sinatra's best-known song on the Reprise label, was not an instant success, charting at No. 27 in the US and No. 5 in the UK, but it remained in the UK charts for 122 weeks, including 75 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 40, between April 1969 and September 1971, which was still a record in 2015. Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song, because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute", professing that he "hated boastfulness in others".
In an effort to maintain his commercial viability in the late 1960s, Sinatra would record works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), the Beatles ("Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides, Now") in 1969.
"Retirement" and return (1970–1981)
In 1970, Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio (of the Four Seasons) and lyrics by Jake Holmes. However, it sold a mere 30,000 copies that year and reached a peak chart position of 101. He left Caesars Palace in September that year after an incident where executive Sanford Waterman pulled a gun on him. He performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On November 2, 1970, Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund. He gave a "rousing" performance of "That's Life", and finished the concert with a Matt Dennis and Earl Brent song, "Angel Eyes" which he had recorded on the Only The Lonely album in 1958. He sang the last line."'Scuse me while I disappear." The spotlight went dark and he left the stage. He told LIFE journalist Thomas Thompson that "I've got things to do, like the first thing is not to do at all for eight months... maybe a year", while Barbara Sinatra later said that Sinatra had grown "tired of entertaining people, especially when all they really wanted were the same old tunes he had long ago become bored by". While he was in retirement, President Richard Nixon asked him to perform at a Young Voters Rally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20, 1972.
In 1973, Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album. The album, entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly. He initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing. That Christmas he performed at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and returned to Caesars Palace the following month in January 1974, despite previously vowing to perform there again [sic]. He began what Barbara Sinatra describes as a "massive comeback tour of the United States, Europe, the Far East and Australia". In July, while on a second tour of Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there– who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference– as "bums, parasites, fags, and buck-and-a-half hookers". After he was pressured to apologize, Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". Union actions cancelled concerts and grounded Sinatra's plane, essentially trapping him in Australia. In the end, Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, arranged for Sinatra to issue a written conciliatory note and a final concert that was televised to the nation. In October 1974 he appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month.
In 1975, Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days. In August he held several consecutive concerts at Lake Tahoe together with the newly-risen singer John Denver, who became a frequent collaborator. Sinatra had recorded Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "My Sweet Lady" for Sinatra & Company (1971), and according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request for his new grandchild, Angela. During the Labor Day weekend held in 1976, Sinatra was responsible for reuniting old friends and comedy partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis for the first time in nearly twenty years, when they performed at the "Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon". That year, the Friars Club selected him as the "Top Box Office Name of the Century", and he was given the Scopus Award by the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada.
Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s, and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him. He cancelled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados. In March, he performed in front of Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall in London, raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On March 14, he recorded with Nelson Riddle for the last time, recording the songs "Linda", "Sweet Loraine", and "Barbara". The two men had a major falling out, and later patched up their differences in January 1985 at a dinner organized for Ronald Reagan, when Sinatra asked Riddle to make another album with him. Riddle was ill at the time, and died that October, before they had a chance to record.
In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles. During a party at Caesars in 1979, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. That year, former President Gerald Ford awarded Sinatra the International Man of the Year Award, and he performed in front of the Egyptian pyramids for Anwar Sadat, which raised more than $500,000 for Sadat's wife's charities.
In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that features an array of songs from both the pre-rock era and rock era. It was the first studio album of Sinatra's to feature his touring pianist at the time, Vinnie Falcone, and was based on an idea by Sonny Burke. The album garnered six Grammy nominations– winning for best liner notes– and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, and spawned yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York". That year, as part of the Concert of the Americas, he performed in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which broke records for the "largest live paid audience ever recorded for a solo performer". The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that was praised for embodying the dark tone of his Capitol years. Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. President Lucas Mangope awarded Sinatra with the highest honor, the Order of the Leopard, and made him an honorary tribal chief.
Later career (1982–1998)
Santopietro stated that by the early 1980s, Sinatra's voice had "coarsened, losing much of its power and flexibility, but audiences didn't care". In 1982, he signed a $16million three-year deal with the Golden Nugget of Las Vegas. Kelley notes that by this period Sinatra's voice had grown "darker, tougher and loamier", but he "continued to captivate audiences with his immutable magic". She added that his baritone voice "sometimes cracked, but the gliding intonations still aroused the same raptures of delight as they had at the Paramount Theater". That year he made a reported further $1.3million from the Showtime television rights to his "Concert of the Americas" in the Dominican Republic, $1.6million for a concert series at Carnegie Hall, and $250,000 in just one evening at the Chicago Fest. He donated a lot of his earnings to charity. He put on a performance at the White House for the Italian prime minister, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.
Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James, President Reagan said in honoring his old friend that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow". On September 21, 1983, Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published. The book became a best-seller for "all the wrong reasons" and "the most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time", according to William Safire of The New York Times. Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life. According to Kelley, the family detested her and the book, which took its toll on Sinatra's health. Kelley says that Tina Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986. He was forced to drop the case on September 19, 1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about his views on censorship.
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. In 1986, Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail. Two years later, Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas. When Martin dropped out of the tour early on, a rift developed between them and the two never spoke again.
On June 6, 1988, Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album which was not released. He recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me A River", and other songs. Sinatra never completed the project, but take number 18 of "My Foolish Heart" may be heard in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995).
In 1990, Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony. Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991 and 84 in 1992 in seventeen different countries.
In 1993, Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album. The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.
During his tours in the early 1990s, his memory failed him at times during concerts, and he fainted onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March 1994. His final public concerts were held in Fukuoka Dome in Japan on December 19–20, 1994. The following year, Sinatra sang for the last time on February 25, 1995, before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss– the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, featuring performers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Natalie Cole and Salt-N-Pepa singing his songs. At the end of the program Sinatra performed on stage for the last time to sing the final notes of the "Theme from New York, New York" with an ensemble. In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Artistry
While Sinatra never learned how to read music well, he had a fine, natural understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. He could follow a lead sheet (simplified sheet music showing a song's basic structure) during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences. Granata states that some of the most accomplished classically trained musicians soon noticed his musical understanding, and remarked that Sinatra had a "sixth sense", which "demonstrated unusual proficiency when it came to detecting incorrect notes and sounds within the orchestra". Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters. His personal favorite was Ralph Vaughan Williams. He would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.
By the mid 1940s, such was his understanding of music that after hearing an air check of some compositions by Alec Wilder which were for strings and woodwinds, he became the conductor at Columbia Records for six of Wilder's compositions: "Air for Oboe", "Air for English Horn", "Air for Flute", "Air for Bassoon", "Slow Dance" and "Theme and Variations". The works, which combine elements of jazz and classical music, were considered by Wilder to have been among the finest renditions and recordings of his compositions, past or present. At one recording session with arranger Claus Ogerman and an orchestra, Sinatra heard "a couple of little strangers" in the string section, prompting Ogerman to make corrections to what were thought to be copyist's errors. Critic Gene Lees, a lyricist and the author of the words to the Jobim melody "This Happy Madness", expressed amazement when he heard Sinatra's recording of it on Sinatra & Company (1971), considering him to have delivered the lyrics to perfection.
Voice coach John Quinlan was impressed by Sinatra's vocal range, remarking, "He has far more voice than people think he has. He can vocalize to a B-flat on top in full voice, and he doesn't need a mic either". As a singer, early on he was primarily influenced by Bing Crosby, but later believed that Tony Bennett was "the best singer in the business". Bennett also praised Sinatra himself, claiming that as a performer, he had "perfected the art of intimacy." According to Nelson Riddle, Sinatra had a "fairly rangy voice", remarking that "His voice has a very strident, insistent sound in the top register, a smooth lyrical sound in the middle register, and a very tender sound in the low. His voice is built on infinite taste, with an overall inflection of sex. He points everything he does from a sexual standpoint". Despite his heavy New Jersey accent, according to Richard Schuller, when Sinatra sang his accent was barely detectable, with his diction becoming "precise" and articulation "meticulous". His timing was impeccable, allowing him, according to Charles L. Granata, to "toy with the rhythm of a melody, bringing tremendous excitement to his reading of a lyric". Tommy Dorsey observed that Sinatra would "take a musical phrase and play it all the way through seemingly without breathing for eight, ten, maybe sixteen bars". Dorsey was a considerable influence on Sinatra's techniques for his vocal phrasing with his own exceptional breath control on the trombone, and Sinatra regularly swam and held his breath underwater, thinking of song lyrics to increase his breathing power.
Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with a sense of uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament. Granata comments that Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others. On days when he felt that his voice was not right, he would know after only a few notes and would postpone the recording session until the following day, yet still pay his musicians. After a period of performing, Sinatra tired of singing a certain set of songs and was always looking for talented new songwriters and composers to work with. Once he found ones that he liked, he actively sought to work with them as often as he could, and made friends with many of them. He once told Sammy Cahn, who wrote songs for Anchors Aweigh, "if you're not there Monday, I'm not there Monday". Over the years he recorded 87 of Cahn's songs, of which 24 were composed by Jule Styne, and 43 by Jimmy Van Heusen. The Cahn-Styne partnership lasted from 1942 until 1954, when Van Heusen succeeded him as Sinatra's main composer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings. He would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record, and would keep an arranger in mind for each song. If it was a mellow love song, he would ask for Gordon Jenkins. If it was a "rhythm" number, he would think of Billy May, or perhaps Neil Hefti or some other favored arranger. Jenkins considered Sinatra's musical sense to be unerring. His changes to Riddle's charts would frustrate Riddle, yet he would usually concede that Sinatra's ideas were superior. Barbara Sinatra notes that Sinatra would almost always credit the songwriter at the end of each number, and would often make comments to the audience, such as "Isn't that a pretty ballad" or "Don't you think that's the most marvelous love song", delivered with "childlike delight". She states that after each show, Sinatra would be "in a buoyant, electrically charged mood, a post-show high that would take him hours to come down from as he quietly relived every note of the performance he'd just given".
Sinatra's split with Gardner in the fall of 1953 had a profound impact on the types of songs he sang and on his voice. He began to console himself in songs with a "brooding melancholy", such as "I'm a Fool to Want You", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "My One and Only Love" and "There Will Never Be Another You", which Riddle believed was the direct influence of Ava Gardner. Lahr comments that the new Sinatra was "not the gentle boy balladeer of the forties. Fragility had gone from his voice, to be replaced by a virile adult's sense of happiness and hurt". Author Granata considered Sinatra a "master of the art of recording", noting that his work in the studio "set him apart from other gifted vocalists". During his career he made over 1000 recordings. Recording sessions would typically last three hours, though Sinatra would always prepare for them by spending at least an hour by the piano beforehand to vocalize, followed by a short rehearsal with the orchestra to ensure the balance of sound. During his Columbia years Sinatra used an RCA 44 microphone, which Granata describes as "the 'old-fashioned' microphone which is closely associated with Sinatra's crooner image of the 1940s", though when performing on talk shows later he used a bullet-shaped RCA 77. At Capitol he used a Neumann U47, an "ultra-sensitive" microphone which better captured the timbre and tone of his voice.
In the 1950s, Sinatra's career was facilitated by developments in technology. Up to sixteen songs could now be held by the twelve-inch L.P., and this allowed Sinatra to use song in a novelistic way, turning each track in a kind of chapter, which built and counterpointed moods to illuminate a larger theme". Santopietro writes that through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, "Every Sinatra LP was a masterpiece of one sort of another, whether uptempo, torch song, or swingin' affairs. Track after track, the brilliant concept albums redefined the nature of pop vocal art".
Film career
Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941–1952)
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic about his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights (1941), singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers. He had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly (1943), making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". Next, he was given leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively (both 1944) for RKO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".
Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town (also 1949), playing a sailor on leave in New York City. The film remains rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
Career comeback and prime (1953–1959)
Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953) deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role which would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film. During production, Montgomery Clift became a close friend, and Sinatra later professed that he "learned more about acting from him than anybody I ever knew before". After several years of critical and commercial decline, his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world. His performance also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".
Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart (1954), and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly (also 1954).
Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). After roles in Guys and Dolls, and The Tender Trap (both 1955), Sinatra was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a medical student in Stanley Kramer's directorial début, Not as a Stranger (also 1955). During production, Sinatra got drunk with Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford and trashed Kramer's dressing room. Kramer vowed to never hire Sinatra again at the time, and later regretted casting him as a Spanish guerrilla leader in The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture. The public rushed to the cinemas to see Sinatra and Crosby together on-screen, and it ended up earning over $13million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing pictures of its year. He starred opposite Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak in George Sidney's Pal Joey (1957), Sinatra, for which he won for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Santopietro considers the scene in which Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to Hayworth to have been the finest moment of his film career. He next portrayed comedian Joe E. Lewis in The Joker Is Wild (also 1957); the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By 1958, Sinatra was one of the ten biggest box office draws in the United States, appearing with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running and Kings Go Forth (both 1958) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. "High Hopes", sung by Sinatra in the Frank Capra comedy, A Hole in the Head (1959), won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became a chart hit, lasting on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks.
Later career (1960–1980)
Due to an obligation he owed to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Henry King's Carousel (1956), Sinatra starred opposite Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan in Can-Can (1960). He earned $200,000 and 25% of the profits for the performance. Around the same time, he starred in the Las Vegas-set Ocean's 11 (also 1960), the first film to feature the Rat Pack together and the start of a "new era of screen cool" for Santopietro. Sinatra personally financed the film, and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000 respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period. He had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career. Vincent Canby, writing for the magazine Variety, found the portrayal of Sinatra's character to be "a wide-awake pro creating a straight, quietly humorous character of some sensitivity." He appeared with the Rat Pack in the western Sergeants 3 (also 1962), following it with 4 for Texas (1963). For his performance in Come Blow Your Horn (also 1963) adapted from the Neil Simon play, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor– Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Sinatra directed None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a major success, However, in the mid 1960s, Brad Dexter wanted to "breathe new life" into Sinatra's film career by helping him display the same professional pride in his films as he did his recordings. On one occasion, he gave Sinatra Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) to read, with the idea of making a film, but Sinatra thought it had no potential and did not understand a word.
In the late 1960s, Sinatra became known for playing detectives, including Tony Rome in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also played a similar role in The Detective (1968).
Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics. The following year, Sinatra received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and had intended to play Detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), but had to turn the role down due to developing Dupuytren's contracture in his hand. Sinatra's last major film role was opposite Faye Dunaway in Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin (1980). Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.
Television and radio career
After beginning on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show with the Hoboken Four in 1935, and later WNEW and WAAT in Jersey City, Sinatra became the star of radio shows of his own on NBC and CBS from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s. In 1942, Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work. By the end of 1942, he was named the "Most Popular Male Vocalist on Radio" in a DownBeat poll. Early on he frequently worked with The Andrews Sisters on radio, and they would appear as guests on each other's shows, as well as on many USO shows broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). He appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS. Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28, 1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day. Starting in September 1949, the BBD&O advertising agency produced a radio series starring Sinatra for Lucky Strike called Light Up Time– some 176 15-minute shows which featured Frank and Dorothy Kirsten singing– which lasted through to May 1950.
In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. Santopietro writes that Sinatra "simply never appeared fully at ease on his own television series, his edgy, impatient personality conveying a pent up energy on the verge of exploding". In 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune, portraying Rocco Fortunato (a.k.a. Rocky Fortune), a "footloose and fancy free" temporary worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbles into crime-solving. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954.
In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows. ABC agreed to allow Sinatra's Hobart Productions to keep 60% of the residuals, and bought stock in Sinatra's film production unit, Kent Productions, guaranteeing him $7million. Though an initial critical success upon its debut on October 18, 1957, it soon attracted negative reviews from Variety and The New Republic, and The Chicago Sun-Times thought that Sinatra and frequent guest Dean Martin "performed like a pair of adult delinquents", "sharing the same cigarette and leering at girls". In return, Sinatra later made numerous appearances on The Dean Martin Show and Martin's TV specials.
Sinatra's fourth and final Timex TV special, Welcome Home Elvis, was broadcast in March 1960, earning massive viewing figures. During the show, he performed a duet with Presley, who sang Sinatra's 1957 hit "Witchcraft" with the host performing the 1956 Presley classic "Love Me Tender". Sinatra had previously been highly critical of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in the 1950s, describing it as a "deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac" which "fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." A CBS News special about the singer's 50th birthday, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, was broadcast on November 16, 1965, and garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
According his musical collaboration with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967, Sinatra appeared in the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, which was broadcast on CBS on November 13. When Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he released both an album and appeared in a TV special named Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song-and-dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly. In the late 1970s, John Denver appeared as a guest in the Sinatra and Friends ABC-TV Special, singing "September Song" as a duet.
Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street (1977), cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film". Ten years later, he made a guest appearance opposite Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., playing a retired policeman who teams up with Selleck to find his granddaughter's murderer. Shot in January 1987, the episode aired on CBS on February 25.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy (born 1940), Frank Jr. (1944–2016) and Tina (born 1948), with his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (née Barbato, 1917–2018), to whom he was married from 1939 to 1951.
Sinatra had met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey in the summer of 1934, while working as a lifeguard. He agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" which led to his arrest. Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, and Joi Lansing.
Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957. It was a turbulent marriage with many well-publicized fights and altercations. The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.
Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962. He married Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966, a short marriage that ended with divorce in Mexico in August 1968. They remained close friends for life, and in a 2013 interview Farrow said that Sinatra might be the father of her son Ronan Farrow (born 1987). In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Nancy Sinatra dismissed the claim as "nonsense".
Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death. The couple married on July 11, 1976, at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, California, the estate of media magnate Walter Annenberg.
Sinatra was close friends with Jilly Rizzo, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, golfer Ken Venturi, comedian Pat Henry and baseball manager Leo Durocher. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music and attended concerts when he could. He swam daily in the Pacific Ocean, finding it to be therapeutic and giving him much-needed solitude. He often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived, and liked painting, reading, and building model railways.
Though Sinatra was critical of the Church on numerous occasions and had a pantheistic, Einstein-like view of God in his earlier life, he was inducted into the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1976, and he turned to Roman Catholicism for healing after his mother died in a plane crash in 1977. He died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.
Style and personality
Sinatra was known for his immaculate sense of style. He spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important, and that he was giving his very best to the audience. He was also obsessed with cleanliness—while with the Tommy Dorsey band he developed the nickname "Lady Macbeth", because of frequent showering and switching his outfits. His deep blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes".
For Santopietro, Sinatra was the personification of America in the 1950s: "cocky, eye on the main chance, optimistic, and full of the sense of possibility". Barbara Sinatra wrote, "A big part of Frank's thrill was the sense of danger that he exuded, an underlying, ever-present tension only those closest to him knew could be defused with humor". Cary Grant, a friend of Sinatra, stated that Sinatra was the "most honest person he'd ever met", who spoke "a simple truth, without artifice which scared people", and was often moved to tears by his performances. Jo-Caroll Dennison commented that he possessed "great inner strength", and that his energy and drive were "enormous". A workaholic, he reportedly only slept four hours a night on average. Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of mild to severe depression, stating to an interviewer in the 1950s that "I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation". Barbara Sinatra stated that he would "snap at anyone for the slightest misdemeanor", while Van Heusen said that when Sinatra got drunk it was "best to disappear".
Sinatra's mood swings often developed into violence, directed at people he felt had crossed him, particularly journalists who gave him scathing reviews, publicists, and photographers. According to Rojek he was "capable of deeply offensive behavior that smacked of a persecution complex". He received negative press for fights with Lee Mortimer in 1947, photographer Eddie Schisser in Houston in 1950, Judy Garland's publicist Jim Byron on the Sunset Strip in 1954, and for a confrontation with Washington Post journalist Maxine Cheshire in 1973, in which he implied that she was a cheap prostitute.
His feud with then-Chicago Sun Times columnist Mike Royko began when Royko wrote a column questioning why Chicago police offered free protection to Sinatra when the singer had his own security. Sinatra fired off an angry letter in response calling Royko a "pimp", and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupée. Royko auctioned the letter, the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The winner of the auction was Vie Carlson, mother of Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick. After appearing on Antiques Roadshow, Carlson consigned the letter to Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, which auctioned it in 2010.
Sinatra was also known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback. Kelley notes that when Lee J. Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come. In another instance, after an argument with manager Bobby Burns, rather than apologize, Sinatra bought him a brand new Cadillac.
Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime. Willie Moretti was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra". He was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, and the two men were seen playing golf together. Kelley quotes Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel, and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed. Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster Joseph Fischetti had been good friends from 1938 onward, and acted like "Sicilian brothers". She also states that Sinatra and Hank Sanicola were financial partners with Mickey Cohen in the gossip magazine Hollywood Night Life.
The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics, and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime. Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie".
In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, a casino hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line on the north shores of Lake Tahoe. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater which attracted his show business friends Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, Victor Borge, Joe E. Lewis, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters, and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel. Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily stripped by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises. Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands. That year, his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped but was eventually released unharmed. Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from Ronald Reagan.
Politics and activism
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward leader, and after meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, he subsequently heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 presidential election. According to Jo Carroll Silvers, in his younger years Sinatra had "ardent liberal" sympathies, and was "so concerned about poor people that he was always quoting Henry Wallace". He was outspoken against racism, particularly toward blacks and Italians, from early on. In November 1945 Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal. His comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a Communist, which he said was not true. In the 1948 presidential election, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Of all the U.S. presidents he associated with during his career, he was closest to John F. Kennedy. Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together. In January 1961 Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C., held on the evening before President Kennedy was sworn into office. After taking office, Kennedy decided to cut ties with Sinatra due, in part, to the singer's ties with the Mafia. His brother Robert, who was serving as Attorney General and was known for urging FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to conduct even more crackdowns on the Mafia, was even more distrustful of Sinatra.
In 1962, Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy, whom he first met in the 1950s, officially ended when Kennedy officially decided to remove Sinatra, who never shook off rumors of affiliation with the Mafia, from his "gang." Sinatra was snubbed by the President during his visit to Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived, when he decided to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby, due to FBI concerns about Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Despite also having ties with the Mafia, Crosby was not willing to give as many public hints as Sinatra. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he later smashed up with a sledgehammer upon being rejected. Despite the snub, when he learned of Kennedy's assassination he reportedly sobbed in his bedroom for three days.
Sinatra worked with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, and remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s. Although still a registered Democrat, Sinatra endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California in 1970. He officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election.
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan and donated $4million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously. In 1985, Reagan presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, remarking, "His love of country, his generosity for those less fortunate... make him one of our most remarkable and distinguished Americans."
Santopietro notes that Sinatra was a "lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes". He was awarded the Hollzer Memorial Award by the Los Angeles Jewish Community in 1949. He gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962, and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) to the Youth Center in Jerusalem. On November 1, 1972, he raised $6.5million in bond pledges for Israel, and was given the Medallion of Valor for his efforts. The Frank Sinatra Student Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was dedicated in his name in 1978. He owned a Jewish skullcap, known as a kippah or yarmulkah, which was sold as part of his wife's estate many years after his death.
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights. He blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children. Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s. At the Sands in 1955, Sinatra went against policy by inviting Nat King Cole into the dining room, and in 1961, after an incident where an African-American couple entered the lobby of the hotel and were blocked by the security guard, Sinatra and Davis forced the hotel management to begin hiring black waiters and busboys. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. According to his son, Frank Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore. When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues. Though he did much towards civil rights causes, it did not stop the occasional racial jibe from him and the other Rat Pack members toward Davis at concerts.
Death
Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, with his wife by his side after suffering two heart attacks. Sinatra was in ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He also suffered from dementia-like symptoms due to his usage of antidepressants. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and reported that his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her siblings (Frank Jr. and Nancy) had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for one minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit and his grave was adorned with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Legacy and honors
Robert Christgau referred to Sinatra as "the greatest singer of the 20th century". His popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. For Santopietro, Sinatra was the "greatest male pop singer in the history of America", who amassed "unprecedented power onscreen and off", and "seemed to exemplify the common man, an ethnic twentieth-century American male who reached the 'top of the heap', yet never forgot his roots". Santopietro argues that Sinatra created his own world, which he was able to dominate—his career was centred around power, perfecting the ability to capture an audience. Encyclopædia Britannica referred to Sinatra as "often hailed as the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music....Through his life and his art, he transcended the status of mere icon to become one of the most recognizable symbols of American culture."
Gus Levene commented that Sinatra's strength was that when it came to lyrics, telling a story musically, Sinatra displayed a "genius" ability and feeling, which with the "rare combination of voice and showmanship" made him the "original singer" which others who followed most tried to emulate. George Roberts, a trombonist in Sinatra's band, remarked that Sinatra had a "charisma, or whatever it is about him, that no one else had". Biographer Arnold Shaw considered that "If Las Vegas had not existed, Sinatra could have invented it". He quoted reporter James Bacon in saying that Sinatra was the "swinging image on which the town is built", adding that no other entertainer quite "embodied the glamour" associated with Las Vegas as him. Sinatra continues to be seen as one of the icons of the 20th century,
and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music. There are stars on east and west sides of the 1600 block of Vine Street respectively, and one on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.
In Sinatra's native Hoboken, he was awarded the Key to the City of by Mayor Fred M. De Sapio on October 30, 1947. In 2003 the city's main post office was rededicated in his honor. A bronze plaque, place two years before Sinatra’s death in 1998, marks the site of the house where he was born. There is also a marker in front of Hoboken Historical Museum, which has artifacts from his life and conducts Sinatra walking tours through the city. Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. On the waterfront is Frank Sinatra Park, where a bronze plaque was placed in 1989 upon its opening. A tall bronze statue of Sinatra dedicated in 2021 on December 12, the date of Sinatra's birthday in 1915.
A residence hall at Montclair State University in New Jersey was named in his honor.Other buildings named for Sinatra include the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem dedicated in 1978, and the Frank Sinatra Hall at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, dedicated in 2002. Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Sinatra which opened in 2008. Items of memorabilia from Sinatra's life and career are displayed at USC's Frank Sinatra Hall and Wynn Resort's Sinatra restaurant. Near the Las Vegas Strip is a road named Frank Sinatra Drive in his honor. The United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra in May 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death. The United States Congress passed a resolution introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.
Sinatra received three Honorary Degrees during his lifetime. In May 1976, he was invited to speak at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) graduation commencement held at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was at this commencement that he was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate litterarum humanarum by the university. During his speech, Sinatra stated that his education had come from "the school of hard knocks" and was suitably touched by the award. He went on to describe that "this is the first educational degree I have ever held in my hand. I will never forget what you have done for me today". A few years later in 1984 and 1985, Sinatra also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Film and television portrayals
Sinatra has been portrayed on numerous occasions in film and television. A television miniseries based on Sinatra's life, titled Sinatra, was aired by CBS in 1992. The series was directed by James Steven Sadwith, who won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone, and produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina.
Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack, 1998), James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, 2003), Dennis Hopper (The Night We Called It a Day, 2003), and Robert Knepper (My Way, 2012), and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. A biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese has long been planned. A 1998 episode of the BBC documentary series Arena, The Voice of the Century, focused on Sinatra. Alex Gibney directed a four-part biographical series on Sinatra, All or Nothing at All, for HBO in 2015. A musical tribute was aired on CBS television in December 2015 to mark Sinatra's centenary. Sinatra was also portrayed by Rico Simonini in the 2018 feature film Frank & Ava, which is based on a play by Willard Manus.
Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".
In December 2020, it was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will portray Frank Sinatra in Reagan, a biopic of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Discography
The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)
Songs by Sinatra (1947)
Christmas Songs by Sinatra (1948)
Frankly Sentimental (1949)
Dedicated to You (1950)
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (1950)
Songs for Young Lovers (1954)
Swing Easy! (1954)
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956)
Close to You (1957)
A Swingin' Affair! (1957)
Where Are You? (1957)
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)
Come Fly with Me (1958)
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
Come Dance with Me! (1959)
No One Cares (1959)
Nice 'n' Easy (1960)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (1961)
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Come Swing with Me! (1961)
Swing Along With Me (1961)
I Remember Tommy (1961)
Sinatra and Strings (1962)
Point of No Return (1962)
Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (1962)
All Alone (1962)
Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (1962)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First with Count Basie (1962)
The Concert Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra's Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
Softly, as I Leave You (1964)
September of My Years (1965)
My Kind of Broadway (1965)
A Man and His Music (1965)
Moonlight Sinatra (1966)
Strangers in the Night (1966)
That's Life (1966)
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
The World We Knew (1967)
Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington (1968)
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas with Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra (1968)
Cycles (1968)
My Way (1969)
A Man Alone (1969)
Watertown (1970)
Sinatra & Company with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1971)
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973)
Some Nice Things I've Missed (1974)
Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
She Shot Me Down (1981)
L.A. Is My Lady (1984)
Duets (1993)
Duets II (1994)
See also
Frank Sinatra bibliography
Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy
The Frank Sinatra Show (radio program)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Freedland, Michael (1998). All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra. St. Martin's Press.
Kaplan, James (2015). Sinatra: The chairman. New York: Doubleday.
Pickard, Roy (1994). Frank Sinatra at the Movies. Hale.
External links
Sinatra family website
Frank Sinatra webradio
Sinatra at the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Frank Sinatra at FBI Records: The Vault
The Sinatra Report, a special section of Billboard's November 20, 1965, issue – beginning immediately after page 34
"Sinatra in Retrospective, Parts 1 and 2," WXXI Public Broadcasting, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Frank Sinatra at Find a Grave
Frank Sinatra
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| true |
[
"Retirement slump refers to the average falloff in the party’s vote when the incumbent retires. A positive value of the sophomore surge represents an incumbency advantage. The retirement slump should be positive for an incumbency advantage to exist.\n\nSophomore surge is the average vote gain for freshman winners in election 1 who run again in election 2. Retirement slump is the average vote loss for the parties whose candidates won election 1 and did not run in election 2.\n\nWhen a Sophomore surge and a Retirement slump combine, it is what is called a slurge.\n\nReferences \n\nElections",
"In sports, a slump is a period when player or team is not performing well or up to expectations. It is essentially a dry spell or drought (e.g. a losing streak), though it is often misused to define a player's decline that is natural during their career.\n\nThere are various theories behind the cause of a slump. Some attribute it simply to the reasons behind a gambler's bad luck. While a player's or team's average collective statistics over a career or season may be quite respectable, there may be peak times when performance is really spectacular, while there are also expected low points with an inevitable drought.\n\nOthers believe there are psychological issues behind a slump. At times, a player, or all the key players on a team, may feel less motivated or may not be adept to handling clutch situations.\n\nBaseball\nIn baseball, a batter can be defined as \"slumping\" when he has gotten few or no hits over a period, and his batting average during that time is far below that of his expectations. Even stars frequently experience hitting slumps.\n\nCricket\nIn cricket, a batsman can be said to be \"out of form\" when he is in a slump.\n\nSee also\nSophomore slump\n\nReferences\n\nTerminology used in multiple sports\nBaseball terminology"
] |
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"Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941-1952)",
"When did Sinatra debut?",
"Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing \"I'll Never Smile Again\" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers.",
"When did he hit his slump",
"The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline \"Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52\"."
] |
C_e101f90c705f425d906b30efdbf86cdb_1
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What musical films was Sinatra in?
| 3 |
What musical films was Frank Sinatra in?
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Frank Sinatra
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Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic towards his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers. In 1943 he had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures. In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1946, Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River. In 1949, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52". CANNOTANSWER
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In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days.
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Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally viewed as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide.
Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his film career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia.
While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". He led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He later married Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. After Sinatra's death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Early life
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—damage that remained for life. Due to his injuries at birth, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from cystic acne that further scarred his face and neck. Sinatra was raised in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven, and biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality traits and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, also ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.
Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien. He later worked for 24 years at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the player piano for spare change. During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as the "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows.
Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz, at a young age. He listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly, and idolized Bing Crosby. Sinatra's maternal uncle, Domenico, gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances. He left without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness". To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found Sinatra work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Garrick worked, and after that, Sinatra was a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He performed in local Hoboken social clubs such as The Cat's Meow and The Comedy Club, and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, who was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.
Music career
Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey (1935–1939)
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing at All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone but Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin", and "Every Day of My Life".
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with the group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, opening the show with "Stardust". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey". Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.
In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded over forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with "Say It" and "Imagination", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance was "I'll Never Smile Again", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include "Our Love Affair" and "Stardust" in 1940; "Oh! Look at Me Now", "Dolores", "Everything Happens to Me", and "This Love of Mine" in 1941; "Just as Though You Were There", "Take Me", and "There Are Such Things" in 1942; and "It Started All Over Again", "In the Blue of Evening", and "It's Always You" in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "Night and Day", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Song is You", and "Lamplighter's Serenade" at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited, you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".
After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby, but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying as Sinatra left, "I hope you fall on your ass", but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes. Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti, coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, holding a gun to his head. Upon leaving Dorsey, Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Up until his death in November 1956, Dorsey occasionally made biting comments about Sinatra to the press such as "he's the most fascinating man in the world, but don't put your hand in the cage".
Onset of Sinatramania and role in World War II (1942–1945)
By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans, and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944 only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and accost his person in the form of stealing clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow-tie.
Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943 during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All", which reached number 2 on June 2, and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he also made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba, and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released "You'll Never Know", "Close to You", "Sunday, Monday, or Always" and "People Will Say We're in Love" as singles. By the end of 1943 he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Bob Eberly, and Dick Haymes.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of a perforated eardrum. However, U.S. Army files reported that Sinatra was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint", but his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers. During one trip to Rome he met the Pope, who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944 Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Crosby's "White Christmas", and the following year he released "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", "Dream", and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" as singles.
Columbia years and career slump (1946–1952)
Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946 he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $93,000 a week.
In 1946 Sinatra released "Oh! What it Seemed to Be", "Day by Day", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Five Minutes More", and "The Coffee Song" as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness", and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning". He was soon selling 10million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase at the time, which consisted of teenage girls. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra, featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean?" and Harold Arlen's and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are". "Mam'selle", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund, Dick Haymes, Dennis Day, and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December he recorded "Sweet Lorraine" with the Metronome All-Stars, featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers, with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of the highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch".
Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, was originally released in 1948 as a 78rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church. By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeats annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby). and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat, who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life".
Though "The Hucklebuck" reached the top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including "Lover", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "It All Depends on You", on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!.
Cementing the low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans from a heart attack in January 1950 at 48. According to Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words", as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the bobbysoxers. Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke out in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and the destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he had met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to suffering a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which "absolutely destroyed him".
In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self absorption". Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks", but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers". Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's single-engine plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter, who had previously worked at the Copa in New York. Sinatra typically performed there three times a year, and later acquired a share in the hotel.
Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident at his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas he performed to half-filled houses of wildcatters and ranchers. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people in a 1,200-seat capacity venue turned up to see him. By April 1952 he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was also disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" the singer's records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as "If I Could Write a Book" in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now", was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith. Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson."
Career revival and the Capitol years (1953–1962)
The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase". On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You", Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity, Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle, an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, "I've Got the World on a String", Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!"
In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on the arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers, was released on January 4, 1954, and included "A Foggy Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "My Funny Valentine", "Violets for Your Furs" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No. 2 and was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single "Three Coins in the Fountain", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy!, which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included "Just One of Those Things", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Get Happy", and "All of Me". Swing Easy! was named Album of the Year by Billboard, and he was also named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard, DownBeat, and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world", and Riddle, who considered Sinatra "a perfectionist", offered equal praise of the singer, observing, "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempi, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable... there is still no one who can approach him."
In 1955 Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours, his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Mood Indigo", "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "When Your Lover Has Gone". According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood". Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year. Another collaboration with Riddle resulted in the development of Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, sometimes seen as one of his best albums, which was released in March 1956. It features a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, something which Sinatra paid meticulous care to, taking a reported 22 takes to perfect.
His February 1956 recording sessions inaugurated the studios at the Capitol Records Building, complete with a 56-piece symphonic orchestra. According to Granata his recordings of "Night and Day", "Oh! Look at Me Now" and "From This Moment On" revealed "powerful sexual overtones, stunningly achieved through the mounting tension and release of Sinatra's best-teasing vocal lines", while his recording of "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" in April demonstrated his "brilliance as a syncopational improviser". Riddle said that Sinatra took "particular delight" in singing "The Lady is a Tramp", commenting that he "always sang that song with a certain amount of salaciousness", making "cue tricks" with the lyrics. His penchant for conducting was displayed again in 1956's Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color, an instrumental album that has been interpreted to be a catharsis to his failed relationship with Gardner. Also that year, Sinatra sang at the Democratic National Convention, and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterwards at the Paramount Theatre.
In 1957, Sinatra released Close to You, A Swingin' Affair! and Where Are You?—his first album in stereo, with Gordon Jenkins. Granata considers "Close to You" to have been thematically his closest concept album to perfection during the "golden" era, and Nelson Riddle's finest work, which was "extremely progressive" by the standards of the day. It is structured like a three-act play, each commencing with the songs "With Every Breath I Take", "Blame It on My Youth" and "It Could Happen to You". For Granata, Sinatra's A Swingin' Affair! and swing music predecessor Songs for Swingin' Lovers! solidified "Sinatra's image as a 'swinger', from both a musical and visual standpoint". Buddy Collette considered the swing albums to have been heavily influenced by Sammy Davis Jr., and stated that when he worked with Sinatra in the mid-1960s he approached a song much differently than he had done in the early 1950s. On June 9, 1957, he performed in a 62-minute concert conducted by Riddle at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, his first appearance in Seattle since 1945. The recording was first released as a bootleg, but in 1999 Artanis Entertainment Group officially released it as the Sinatra '57 in Concert live album, after Sinatra's death. In 1958 Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour. It reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in its second week, remaining at the top for five weeks, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards. The title song, "Come Fly With Me", written especially for him, would become one of his best known standards. On May 29 he recorded seven songs in a single session, more than double the usual yield of a recording session, and an eighth was planned, "Lush Life", but Sinatra found it too technically demanding. In September, Sinatra released Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads which proved a huge commercial success, spending 120 weeks on Billboards album chart and peaking at No.1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of the "saloon song" segments of Sinatra's concerts.
In 1959, Sinatra released Come Dance with Me!, a highly successful, critically acclaimed album which stayed on Billboard's Pop album chart for 140 weeks, peaking at No. 2. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Arrangement for Billy May. He also released No One Cares in the same year, a collection of "brooding, lonely" torch songs, which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought was "nearly as good as its predecessor Where Are You?, but lacked the "lush" arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of Only the Lonely.
In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but had "assumed the position of il padrone in Hollywood". He was asked by 20th Century Fox to be the master of ceremonies at a luncheon attended by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on September 19, 1959. Nice 'n' Easy, a collection of ballads, topped the Billboard chart in October 1960 and remained in the charts for 86 weeks, winning critical plaudits. Granata noted the "lifelike ambient sound" quality of Nice and Easy, the perfection in the stereo balance, and the "bold, bright and snappy" sound of the band. He highlighted the "close, warm and sharp" feel of Sinatra's voice, particularly on the songs "September in the Rain", "I Concentrate on You", and "My Blue Heaven".
Reprise years (1961–1981)
Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol, and fell into a feud with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months. His first attempt at owning his own label was with his pursuit of buying declining jazz label, Verve Records, which ended once an initial agreement with Verve founder, Norman Granz, "failed to materialize." He decided to form his own label, Reprise Records and, in an effort to assert his new direction, temporarily parted with Riddle, May and Jenkins, working with other arrangers such as Neil Hefti, Don Costa, and Quincy Jones. Sinatra built the appeal of Reprise Records as one in which artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on Billboard. The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's The Warm Moods, Sammy Davis Jr.'s The Wham of Sam, Mavis River's Mavis and Joe E. Lewis's It is Now Post Time. During the initial years of Reprise, Sinatra was still under contract to record for Capitol, completing his contractual commitment with the release of Point of No Return, recorded over a two-day period on September 11 and 12, 1961.
In 1962, Sinatra released Sinatra and Strings, a set of standard ballads arranged by Don Costa, which became one of the most critically acclaimed works of Sinatra's entire Reprise period. Frank Jr., who was present during the recording, noted the "huge orchestra", which Nancy Sinatra stated "opened a whole new era" in pop music, with orchestras getting bigger, embracing a "lush string sound". Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones. The two became frequent performers together, and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.
In 1963, Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle. The concert was recorded on a motion picture scoring soundstage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed an optical signal onto 35mm film designed for movie soundtracks. Granata considers the album to have been "impeachable" [sic], "one of the very best of the Sinatra-Riddle ballad albums", in which Sinatra displayed an impressive vocal range, particularly in "Ol' Man River", in which he darkened the hue.
In 1964 the song "My Kind of Town" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra released Softly, as I Leave You, and collaborated with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring on America, I Hear You Singing, a collection of patriotic songs recorded as a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period. In 1961 and 1962 he went to Mexico, with the sole purpose of putting on performances for Mexican charities, and in July 1964 he was present for the dedication of the Frank Sinatra International Youth Center for Arab and Jewish children in Nazareth.
Sinatra's phenomenal success in 1965, coinciding with his 50th birthday, prompted Billboard to proclaim that he may have reached the "peak of his eminence". In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin played live in St. Louis to benefit Dismas House, a prisoner rehabilitation and training center with nationwide programs that in particular helped serve African Americans. The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. The album September of My Years was released September 1965, and went on to win the Grammy Award for best album of the year. Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist". One of the album's singles, "It Was a Very Good Year", won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male. A career anthology, A Man and His Music, followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys the following year.
In 1966 Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboards pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting. Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year, when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes, after a fight.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. He recorded one of his collaborations with Jobim, the Grammy-nominated album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, which was one of the best-selling albums of the year, behind the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to Santopietro the album "consists of an extraordinarily effective blend of bossa nova and slightly swinging jazz vocals, and succeeds in creating an unbroken mood of romance and regret". Writer Stan Cornyn wrote that Sinatra sang so softly on the album that it was comparable to the time that he suffered from a vocal hemorrhage in 1950.
Sinatra also released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K.. According to Granata, the recording of "Indian Summer" on the album was a favorite of Riddle's, noting the "contemplative mood [which] is heightened by a Johnny Hodges alto sax solo that will bring a tear to your eye". With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", using the melody of the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968. "My Way", Sinatra's best-known song on the Reprise label, was not an instant success, charting at No. 27 in the US and No. 5 in the UK, but it remained in the UK charts for 122 weeks, including 75 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 40, between April 1969 and September 1971, which was still a record in 2015. Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song, because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute", professing that he "hated boastfulness in others".
In an effort to maintain his commercial viability in the late 1960s, Sinatra would record works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), the Beatles ("Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides, Now") in 1969.
"Retirement" and return (1970–1981)
In 1970, Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio (of the Four Seasons) and lyrics by Jake Holmes. However, it sold a mere 30,000 copies that year and reached a peak chart position of 101. He left Caesars Palace in September that year after an incident where executive Sanford Waterman pulled a gun on him. He performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On November 2, 1970, Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund. He gave a "rousing" performance of "That's Life", and finished the concert with a Matt Dennis and Earl Brent song, "Angel Eyes" which he had recorded on the Only The Lonely album in 1958. He sang the last line."'Scuse me while I disappear." The spotlight went dark and he left the stage. He told LIFE journalist Thomas Thompson that "I've got things to do, like the first thing is not to do at all for eight months... maybe a year", while Barbara Sinatra later said that Sinatra had grown "tired of entertaining people, especially when all they really wanted were the same old tunes he had long ago become bored by". While he was in retirement, President Richard Nixon asked him to perform at a Young Voters Rally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20, 1972.
In 1973, Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album. The album, entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly. He initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing. That Christmas he performed at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and returned to Caesars Palace the following month in January 1974, despite previously vowing to perform there again [sic]. He began what Barbara Sinatra describes as a "massive comeback tour of the United States, Europe, the Far East and Australia". In July, while on a second tour of Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there– who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference– as "bums, parasites, fags, and buck-and-a-half hookers". After he was pressured to apologize, Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". Union actions cancelled concerts and grounded Sinatra's plane, essentially trapping him in Australia. In the end, Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, arranged for Sinatra to issue a written conciliatory note and a final concert that was televised to the nation. In October 1974 he appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month.
In 1975, Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days. In August he held several consecutive concerts at Lake Tahoe together with the newly-risen singer John Denver, who became a frequent collaborator. Sinatra had recorded Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "My Sweet Lady" for Sinatra & Company (1971), and according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request for his new grandchild, Angela. During the Labor Day weekend held in 1976, Sinatra was responsible for reuniting old friends and comedy partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis for the first time in nearly twenty years, when they performed at the "Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon". That year, the Friars Club selected him as the "Top Box Office Name of the Century", and he was given the Scopus Award by the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada.
Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s, and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him. He cancelled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados. In March, he performed in front of Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall in London, raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On March 14, he recorded with Nelson Riddle for the last time, recording the songs "Linda", "Sweet Loraine", and "Barbara". The two men had a major falling out, and later patched up their differences in January 1985 at a dinner organized for Ronald Reagan, when Sinatra asked Riddle to make another album with him. Riddle was ill at the time, and died that October, before they had a chance to record.
In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles. During a party at Caesars in 1979, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. That year, former President Gerald Ford awarded Sinatra the International Man of the Year Award, and he performed in front of the Egyptian pyramids for Anwar Sadat, which raised more than $500,000 for Sadat's wife's charities.
In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that features an array of songs from both the pre-rock era and rock era. It was the first studio album of Sinatra's to feature his touring pianist at the time, Vinnie Falcone, and was based on an idea by Sonny Burke. The album garnered six Grammy nominations– winning for best liner notes– and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, and spawned yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York". That year, as part of the Concert of the Americas, he performed in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which broke records for the "largest live paid audience ever recorded for a solo performer". The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that was praised for embodying the dark tone of his Capitol years. Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. President Lucas Mangope awarded Sinatra with the highest honor, the Order of the Leopard, and made him an honorary tribal chief.
Later career (1982–1998)
Santopietro stated that by the early 1980s, Sinatra's voice had "coarsened, losing much of its power and flexibility, but audiences didn't care". In 1982, he signed a $16million three-year deal with the Golden Nugget of Las Vegas. Kelley notes that by this period Sinatra's voice had grown "darker, tougher and loamier", but he "continued to captivate audiences with his immutable magic". She added that his baritone voice "sometimes cracked, but the gliding intonations still aroused the same raptures of delight as they had at the Paramount Theater". That year he made a reported further $1.3million from the Showtime television rights to his "Concert of the Americas" in the Dominican Republic, $1.6million for a concert series at Carnegie Hall, and $250,000 in just one evening at the Chicago Fest. He donated a lot of his earnings to charity. He put on a performance at the White House for the Italian prime minister, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.
Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James, President Reagan said in honoring his old friend that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow". On September 21, 1983, Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published. The book became a best-seller for "all the wrong reasons" and "the most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time", according to William Safire of The New York Times. Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life. According to Kelley, the family detested her and the book, which took its toll on Sinatra's health. Kelley says that Tina Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986. He was forced to drop the case on September 19, 1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about his views on censorship.
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. In 1986, Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail. Two years later, Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas. When Martin dropped out of the tour early on, a rift developed between them and the two never spoke again.
On June 6, 1988, Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album which was not released. He recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me A River", and other songs. Sinatra never completed the project, but take number 18 of "My Foolish Heart" may be heard in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995).
In 1990, Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony. Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991 and 84 in 1992 in seventeen different countries.
In 1993, Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album. The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.
During his tours in the early 1990s, his memory failed him at times during concerts, and he fainted onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March 1994. His final public concerts were held in Fukuoka Dome in Japan on December 19–20, 1994. The following year, Sinatra sang for the last time on February 25, 1995, before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss– the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, featuring performers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Natalie Cole and Salt-N-Pepa singing his songs. At the end of the program Sinatra performed on stage for the last time to sing the final notes of the "Theme from New York, New York" with an ensemble. In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Artistry
While Sinatra never learned how to read music well, he had a fine, natural understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. He could follow a lead sheet (simplified sheet music showing a song's basic structure) during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences. Granata states that some of the most accomplished classically trained musicians soon noticed his musical understanding, and remarked that Sinatra had a "sixth sense", which "demonstrated unusual proficiency when it came to detecting incorrect notes and sounds within the orchestra". Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters. His personal favorite was Ralph Vaughan Williams. He would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.
By the mid 1940s, such was his understanding of music that after hearing an air check of some compositions by Alec Wilder which were for strings and woodwinds, he became the conductor at Columbia Records for six of Wilder's compositions: "Air for Oboe", "Air for English Horn", "Air for Flute", "Air for Bassoon", "Slow Dance" and "Theme and Variations". The works, which combine elements of jazz and classical music, were considered by Wilder to have been among the finest renditions and recordings of his compositions, past or present. At one recording session with arranger Claus Ogerman and an orchestra, Sinatra heard "a couple of little strangers" in the string section, prompting Ogerman to make corrections to what were thought to be copyist's errors. Critic Gene Lees, a lyricist and the author of the words to the Jobim melody "This Happy Madness", expressed amazement when he heard Sinatra's recording of it on Sinatra & Company (1971), considering him to have delivered the lyrics to perfection.
Voice coach John Quinlan was impressed by Sinatra's vocal range, remarking, "He has far more voice than people think he has. He can vocalize to a B-flat on top in full voice, and he doesn't need a mic either". As a singer, early on he was primarily influenced by Bing Crosby, but later believed that Tony Bennett was "the best singer in the business". Bennett also praised Sinatra himself, claiming that as a performer, he had "perfected the art of intimacy." According to Nelson Riddle, Sinatra had a "fairly rangy voice", remarking that "His voice has a very strident, insistent sound in the top register, a smooth lyrical sound in the middle register, and a very tender sound in the low. His voice is built on infinite taste, with an overall inflection of sex. He points everything he does from a sexual standpoint". Despite his heavy New Jersey accent, according to Richard Schuller, when Sinatra sang his accent was barely detectable, with his diction becoming "precise" and articulation "meticulous". His timing was impeccable, allowing him, according to Charles L. Granata, to "toy with the rhythm of a melody, bringing tremendous excitement to his reading of a lyric". Tommy Dorsey observed that Sinatra would "take a musical phrase and play it all the way through seemingly without breathing for eight, ten, maybe sixteen bars". Dorsey was a considerable influence on Sinatra's techniques for his vocal phrasing with his own exceptional breath control on the trombone, and Sinatra regularly swam and held his breath underwater, thinking of song lyrics to increase his breathing power.
Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with a sense of uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament. Granata comments that Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others. On days when he felt that his voice was not right, he would know after only a few notes and would postpone the recording session until the following day, yet still pay his musicians. After a period of performing, Sinatra tired of singing a certain set of songs and was always looking for talented new songwriters and composers to work with. Once he found ones that he liked, he actively sought to work with them as often as he could, and made friends with many of them. He once told Sammy Cahn, who wrote songs for Anchors Aweigh, "if you're not there Monday, I'm not there Monday". Over the years he recorded 87 of Cahn's songs, of which 24 were composed by Jule Styne, and 43 by Jimmy Van Heusen. The Cahn-Styne partnership lasted from 1942 until 1954, when Van Heusen succeeded him as Sinatra's main composer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings. He would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record, and would keep an arranger in mind for each song. If it was a mellow love song, he would ask for Gordon Jenkins. If it was a "rhythm" number, he would think of Billy May, or perhaps Neil Hefti or some other favored arranger. Jenkins considered Sinatra's musical sense to be unerring. His changes to Riddle's charts would frustrate Riddle, yet he would usually concede that Sinatra's ideas were superior. Barbara Sinatra notes that Sinatra would almost always credit the songwriter at the end of each number, and would often make comments to the audience, such as "Isn't that a pretty ballad" or "Don't you think that's the most marvelous love song", delivered with "childlike delight". She states that after each show, Sinatra would be "in a buoyant, electrically charged mood, a post-show high that would take him hours to come down from as he quietly relived every note of the performance he'd just given".
Sinatra's split with Gardner in the fall of 1953 had a profound impact on the types of songs he sang and on his voice. He began to console himself in songs with a "brooding melancholy", such as "I'm a Fool to Want You", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "My One and Only Love" and "There Will Never Be Another You", which Riddle believed was the direct influence of Ava Gardner. Lahr comments that the new Sinatra was "not the gentle boy balladeer of the forties. Fragility had gone from his voice, to be replaced by a virile adult's sense of happiness and hurt". Author Granata considered Sinatra a "master of the art of recording", noting that his work in the studio "set him apart from other gifted vocalists". During his career he made over 1000 recordings. Recording sessions would typically last three hours, though Sinatra would always prepare for them by spending at least an hour by the piano beforehand to vocalize, followed by a short rehearsal with the orchestra to ensure the balance of sound. During his Columbia years Sinatra used an RCA 44 microphone, which Granata describes as "the 'old-fashioned' microphone which is closely associated with Sinatra's crooner image of the 1940s", though when performing on talk shows later he used a bullet-shaped RCA 77. At Capitol he used a Neumann U47, an "ultra-sensitive" microphone which better captured the timbre and tone of his voice.
In the 1950s, Sinatra's career was facilitated by developments in technology. Up to sixteen songs could now be held by the twelve-inch L.P., and this allowed Sinatra to use song in a novelistic way, turning each track in a kind of chapter, which built and counterpointed moods to illuminate a larger theme". Santopietro writes that through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, "Every Sinatra LP was a masterpiece of one sort of another, whether uptempo, torch song, or swingin' affairs. Track after track, the brilliant concept albums redefined the nature of pop vocal art".
Film career
Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941–1952)
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic about his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights (1941), singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers. He had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly (1943), making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". Next, he was given leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively (both 1944) for RKO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".
Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town (also 1949), playing a sailor on leave in New York City. The film remains rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
Career comeback and prime (1953–1959)
Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953) deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role which would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film. During production, Montgomery Clift became a close friend, and Sinatra later professed that he "learned more about acting from him than anybody I ever knew before". After several years of critical and commercial decline, his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world. His performance also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".
Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart (1954), and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly (also 1954).
Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). After roles in Guys and Dolls, and The Tender Trap (both 1955), Sinatra was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a medical student in Stanley Kramer's directorial début, Not as a Stranger (also 1955). During production, Sinatra got drunk with Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford and trashed Kramer's dressing room. Kramer vowed to never hire Sinatra again at the time, and later regretted casting him as a Spanish guerrilla leader in The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture. The public rushed to the cinemas to see Sinatra and Crosby together on-screen, and it ended up earning over $13million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing pictures of its year. He starred opposite Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak in George Sidney's Pal Joey (1957), Sinatra, for which he won for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Santopietro considers the scene in which Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to Hayworth to have been the finest moment of his film career. He next portrayed comedian Joe E. Lewis in The Joker Is Wild (also 1957); the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By 1958, Sinatra was one of the ten biggest box office draws in the United States, appearing with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running and Kings Go Forth (both 1958) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. "High Hopes", sung by Sinatra in the Frank Capra comedy, A Hole in the Head (1959), won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became a chart hit, lasting on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks.
Later career (1960–1980)
Due to an obligation he owed to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Henry King's Carousel (1956), Sinatra starred opposite Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan in Can-Can (1960). He earned $200,000 and 25% of the profits for the performance. Around the same time, he starred in the Las Vegas-set Ocean's 11 (also 1960), the first film to feature the Rat Pack together and the start of a "new era of screen cool" for Santopietro. Sinatra personally financed the film, and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000 respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period. He had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career. Vincent Canby, writing for the magazine Variety, found the portrayal of Sinatra's character to be "a wide-awake pro creating a straight, quietly humorous character of some sensitivity." He appeared with the Rat Pack in the western Sergeants 3 (also 1962), following it with 4 for Texas (1963). For his performance in Come Blow Your Horn (also 1963) adapted from the Neil Simon play, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor– Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Sinatra directed None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a major success, However, in the mid 1960s, Brad Dexter wanted to "breathe new life" into Sinatra's film career by helping him display the same professional pride in his films as he did his recordings. On one occasion, he gave Sinatra Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) to read, with the idea of making a film, but Sinatra thought it had no potential and did not understand a word.
In the late 1960s, Sinatra became known for playing detectives, including Tony Rome in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also played a similar role in The Detective (1968).
Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics. The following year, Sinatra received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and had intended to play Detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), but had to turn the role down due to developing Dupuytren's contracture in his hand. Sinatra's last major film role was opposite Faye Dunaway in Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin (1980). Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.
Television and radio career
After beginning on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show with the Hoboken Four in 1935, and later WNEW and WAAT in Jersey City, Sinatra became the star of radio shows of his own on NBC and CBS from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s. In 1942, Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work. By the end of 1942, he was named the "Most Popular Male Vocalist on Radio" in a DownBeat poll. Early on he frequently worked with The Andrews Sisters on radio, and they would appear as guests on each other's shows, as well as on many USO shows broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). He appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS. Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28, 1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day. Starting in September 1949, the BBD&O advertising agency produced a radio series starring Sinatra for Lucky Strike called Light Up Time– some 176 15-minute shows which featured Frank and Dorothy Kirsten singing– which lasted through to May 1950.
In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. Santopietro writes that Sinatra "simply never appeared fully at ease on his own television series, his edgy, impatient personality conveying a pent up energy on the verge of exploding". In 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune, portraying Rocco Fortunato (a.k.a. Rocky Fortune), a "footloose and fancy free" temporary worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbles into crime-solving. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954.
In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows. ABC agreed to allow Sinatra's Hobart Productions to keep 60% of the residuals, and bought stock in Sinatra's film production unit, Kent Productions, guaranteeing him $7million. Though an initial critical success upon its debut on October 18, 1957, it soon attracted negative reviews from Variety and The New Republic, and The Chicago Sun-Times thought that Sinatra and frequent guest Dean Martin "performed like a pair of adult delinquents", "sharing the same cigarette and leering at girls". In return, Sinatra later made numerous appearances on The Dean Martin Show and Martin's TV specials.
Sinatra's fourth and final Timex TV special, Welcome Home Elvis, was broadcast in March 1960, earning massive viewing figures. During the show, he performed a duet with Presley, who sang Sinatra's 1957 hit "Witchcraft" with the host performing the 1956 Presley classic "Love Me Tender". Sinatra had previously been highly critical of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in the 1950s, describing it as a "deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac" which "fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." A CBS News special about the singer's 50th birthday, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, was broadcast on November 16, 1965, and garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
According his musical collaboration with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967, Sinatra appeared in the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, which was broadcast on CBS on November 13. When Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he released both an album and appeared in a TV special named Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song-and-dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly. In the late 1970s, John Denver appeared as a guest in the Sinatra and Friends ABC-TV Special, singing "September Song" as a duet.
Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street (1977), cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film". Ten years later, he made a guest appearance opposite Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., playing a retired policeman who teams up with Selleck to find his granddaughter's murderer. Shot in January 1987, the episode aired on CBS on February 25.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy (born 1940), Frank Jr. (1944–2016) and Tina (born 1948), with his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (née Barbato, 1917–2018), to whom he was married from 1939 to 1951.
Sinatra had met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey in the summer of 1934, while working as a lifeguard. He agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" which led to his arrest. Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, and Joi Lansing.
Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957. It was a turbulent marriage with many well-publicized fights and altercations. The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.
Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962. He married Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966, a short marriage that ended with divorce in Mexico in August 1968. They remained close friends for life, and in a 2013 interview Farrow said that Sinatra might be the father of her son Ronan Farrow (born 1987). In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Nancy Sinatra dismissed the claim as "nonsense".
Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death. The couple married on July 11, 1976, at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, California, the estate of media magnate Walter Annenberg.
Sinatra was close friends with Jilly Rizzo, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, golfer Ken Venturi, comedian Pat Henry and baseball manager Leo Durocher. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music and attended concerts when he could. He swam daily in the Pacific Ocean, finding it to be therapeutic and giving him much-needed solitude. He often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived, and liked painting, reading, and building model railways.
Though Sinatra was critical of the Church on numerous occasions and had a pantheistic, Einstein-like view of God in his earlier life, he was inducted into the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1976, and he turned to Roman Catholicism for healing after his mother died in a plane crash in 1977. He died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.
Style and personality
Sinatra was known for his immaculate sense of style. He spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important, and that he was giving his very best to the audience. He was also obsessed with cleanliness—while with the Tommy Dorsey band he developed the nickname "Lady Macbeth", because of frequent showering and switching his outfits. His deep blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes".
For Santopietro, Sinatra was the personification of America in the 1950s: "cocky, eye on the main chance, optimistic, and full of the sense of possibility". Barbara Sinatra wrote, "A big part of Frank's thrill was the sense of danger that he exuded, an underlying, ever-present tension only those closest to him knew could be defused with humor". Cary Grant, a friend of Sinatra, stated that Sinatra was the "most honest person he'd ever met", who spoke "a simple truth, without artifice which scared people", and was often moved to tears by his performances. Jo-Caroll Dennison commented that he possessed "great inner strength", and that his energy and drive were "enormous". A workaholic, he reportedly only slept four hours a night on average. Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of mild to severe depression, stating to an interviewer in the 1950s that "I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation". Barbara Sinatra stated that he would "snap at anyone for the slightest misdemeanor", while Van Heusen said that when Sinatra got drunk it was "best to disappear".
Sinatra's mood swings often developed into violence, directed at people he felt had crossed him, particularly journalists who gave him scathing reviews, publicists, and photographers. According to Rojek he was "capable of deeply offensive behavior that smacked of a persecution complex". He received negative press for fights with Lee Mortimer in 1947, photographer Eddie Schisser in Houston in 1950, Judy Garland's publicist Jim Byron on the Sunset Strip in 1954, and for a confrontation with Washington Post journalist Maxine Cheshire in 1973, in which he implied that she was a cheap prostitute.
His feud with then-Chicago Sun Times columnist Mike Royko began when Royko wrote a column questioning why Chicago police offered free protection to Sinatra when the singer had his own security. Sinatra fired off an angry letter in response calling Royko a "pimp", and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupée. Royko auctioned the letter, the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The winner of the auction was Vie Carlson, mother of Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick. After appearing on Antiques Roadshow, Carlson consigned the letter to Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, which auctioned it in 2010.
Sinatra was also known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback. Kelley notes that when Lee J. Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come. In another instance, after an argument with manager Bobby Burns, rather than apologize, Sinatra bought him a brand new Cadillac.
Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime. Willie Moretti was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra". He was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, and the two men were seen playing golf together. Kelley quotes Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel, and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed. Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster Joseph Fischetti had been good friends from 1938 onward, and acted like "Sicilian brothers". She also states that Sinatra and Hank Sanicola were financial partners with Mickey Cohen in the gossip magazine Hollywood Night Life.
The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics, and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime. Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie".
In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, a casino hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line on the north shores of Lake Tahoe. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater which attracted his show business friends Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, Victor Borge, Joe E. Lewis, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters, and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel. Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily stripped by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises. Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands. That year, his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped but was eventually released unharmed. Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from Ronald Reagan.
Politics and activism
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward leader, and after meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, he subsequently heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 presidential election. According to Jo Carroll Silvers, in his younger years Sinatra had "ardent liberal" sympathies, and was "so concerned about poor people that he was always quoting Henry Wallace". He was outspoken against racism, particularly toward blacks and Italians, from early on. In November 1945 Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal. His comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a Communist, which he said was not true. In the 1948 presidential election, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Of all the U.S. presidents he associated with during his career, he was closest to John F. Kennedy. Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together. In January 1961 Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C., held on the evening before President Kennedy was sworn into office. After taking office, Kennedy decided to cut ties with Sinatra due, in part, to the singer's ties with the Mafia. His brother Robert, who was serving as Attorney General and was known for urging FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to conduct even more crackdowns on the Mafia, was even more distrustful of Sinatra.
In 1962, Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy, whom he first met in the 1950s, officially ended when Kennedy officially decided to remove Sinatra, who never shook off rumors of affiliation with the Mafia, from his "gang." Sinatra was snubbed by the President during his visit to Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived, when he decided to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby, due to FBI concerns about Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Despite also having ties with the Mafia, Crosby was not willing to give as many public hints as Sinatra. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he later smashed up with a sledgehammer upon being rejected. Despite the snub, when he learned of Kennedy's assassination he reportedly sobbed in his bedroom for three days.
Sinatra worked with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, and remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s. Although still a registered Democrat, Sinatra endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California in 1970. He officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election.
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan and donated $4million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously. In 1985, Reagan presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, remarking, "His love of country, his generosity for those less fortunate... make him one of our most remarkable and distinguished Americans."
Santopietro notes that Sinatra was a "lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes". He was awarded the Hollzer Memorial Award by the Los Angeles Jewish Community in 1949. He gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962, and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) to the Youth Center in Jerusalem. On November 1, 1972, he raised $6.5million in bond pledges for Israel, and was given the Medallion of Valor for his efforts. The Frank Sinatra Student Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was dedicated in his name in 1978. He owned a Jewish skullcap, known as a kippah or yarmulkah, which was sold as part of his wife's estate many years after his death.
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights. He blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children. Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s. At the Sands in 1955, Sinatra went against policy by inviting Nat King Cole into the dining room, and in 1961, after an incident where an African-American couple entered the lobby of the hotel and were blocked by the security guard, Sinatra and Davis forced the hotel management to begin hiring black waiters and busboys. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. According to his son, Frank Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore. When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues. Though he did much towards civil rights causes, it did not stop the occasional racial jibe from him and the other Rat Pack members toward Davis at concerts.
Death
Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, with his wife by his side after suffering two heart attacks. Sinatra was in ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He also suffered from dementia-like symptoms due to his usage of antidepressants. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and reported that his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her siblings (Frank Jr. and Nancy) had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for one minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit and his grave was adorned with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Legacy and honors
Robert Christgau referred to Sinatra as "the greatest singer of the 20th century". His popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. For Santopietro, Sinatra was the "greatest male pop singer in the history of America", who amassed "unprecedented power onscreen and off", and "seemed to exemplify the common man, an ethnic twentieth-century American male who reached the 'top of the heap', yet never forgot his roots". Santopietro argues that Sinatra created his own world, which he was able to dominate—his career was centred around power, perfecting the ability to capture an audience. Encyclopædia Britannica referred to Sinatra as "often hailed as the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music....Through his life and his art, he transcended the status of mere icon to become one of the most recognizable symbols of American culture."
Gus Levene commented that Sinatra's strength was that when it came to lyrics, telling a story musically, Sinatra displayed a "genius" ability and feeling, which with the "rare combination of voice and showmanship" made him the "original singer" which others who followed most tried to emulate. George Roberts, a trombonist in Sinatra's band, remarked that Sinatra had a "charisma, or whatever it is about him, that no one else had". Biographer Arnold Shaw considered that "If Las Vegas had not existed, Sinatra could have invented it". He quoted reporter James Bacon in saying that Sinatra was the "swinging image on which the town is built", adding that no other entertainer quite "embodied the glamour" associated with Las Vegas as him. Sinatra continues to be seen as one of the icons of the 20th century,
and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music. There are stars on east and west sides of the 1600 block of Vine Street respectively, and one on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.
In Sinatra's native Hoboken, he was awarded the Key to the City of by Mayor Fred M. De Sapio on October 30, 1947. In 2003 the city's main post office was rededicated in his honor. A bronze plaque, place two years before Sinatra’s death in 1998, marks the site of the house where he was born. There is also a marker in front of Hoboken Historical Museum, which has artifacts from his life and conducts Sinatra walking tours through the city. Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. On the waterfront is Frank Sinatra Park, where a bronze plaque was placed in 1989 upon its opening. A tall bronze statue of Sinatra dedicated in 2021 on December 12, the date of Sinatra's birthday in 1915.
A residence hall at Montclair State University in New Jersey was named in his honor.Other buildings named for Sinatra include the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem dedicated in 1978, and the Frank Sinatra Hall at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, dedicated in 2002. Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Sinatra which opened in 2008. Items of memorabilia from Sinatra's life and career are displayed at USC's Frank Sinatra Hall and Wynn Resort's Sinatra restaurant. Near the Las Vegas Strip is a road named Frank Sinatra Drive in his honor. The United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra in May 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death. The United States Congress passed a resolution introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.
Sinatra received three Honorary Degrees during his lifetime. In May 1976, he was invited to speak at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) graduation commencement held at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was at this commencement that he was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate litterarum humanarum by the university. During his speech, Sinatra stated that his education had come from "the school of hard knocks" and was suitably touched by the award. He went on to describe that "this is the first educational degree I have ever held in my hand. I will never forget what you have done for me today". A few years later in 1984 and 1985, Sinatra also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Film and television portrayals
Sinatra has been portrayed on numerous occasions in film and television. A television miniseries based on Sinatra's life, titled Sinatra, was aired by CBS in 1992. The series was directed by James Steven Sadwith, who won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone, and produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina.
Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack, 1998), James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, 2003), Dennis Hopper (The Night We Called It a Day, 2003), and Robert Knepper (My Way, 2012), and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. A biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese has long been planned. A 1998 episode of the BBC documentary series Arena, The Voice of the Century, focused on Sinatra. Alex Gibney directed a four-part biographical series on Sinatra, All or Nothing at All, for HBO in 2015. A musical tribute was aired on CBS television in December 2015 to mark Sinatra's centenary. Sinatra was also portrayed by Rico Simonini in the 2018 feature film Frank & Ava, which is based on a play by Willard Manus.
Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".
In December 2020, it was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will portray Frank Sinatra in Reagan, a biopic of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Discography
The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)
Songs by Sinatra (1947)
Christmas Songs by Sinatra (1948)
Frankly Sentimental (1949)
Dedicated to You (1950)
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (1950)
Songs for Young Lovers (1954)
Swing Easy! (1954)
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956)
Close to You (1957)
A Swingin' Affair! (1957)
Where Are You? (1957)
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)
Come Fly with Me (1958)
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
Come Dance with Me! (1959)
No One Cares (1959)
Nice 'n' Easy (1960)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (1961)
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Come Swing with Me! (1961)
Swing Along With Me (1961)
I Remember Tommy (1961)
Sinatra and Strings (1962)
Point of No Return (1962)
Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (1962)
All Alone (1962)
Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (1962)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First with Count Basie (1962)
The Concert Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra's Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
Softly, as I Leave You (1964)
September of My Years (1965)
My Kind of Broadway (1965)
A Man and His Music (1965)
Moonlight Sinatra (1966)
Strangers in the Night (1966)
That's Life (1966)
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
The World We Knew (1967)
Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington (1968)
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas with Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra (1968)
Cycles (1968)
My Way (1969)
A Man Alone (1969)
Watertown (1970)
Sinatra & Company with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1971)
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973)
Some Nice Things I've Missed (1974)
Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
She Shot Me Down (1981)
L.A. Is My Lady (1984)
Duets (1993)
Duets II (1994)
See also
Frank Sinatra bibliography
Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy
The Frank Sinatra Show (radio program)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Freedland, Michael (1998). All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra. St. Martin's Press.
Kaplan, James (2015). Sinatra: The chairman. New York: Doubleday.
Pickard, Roy (1994). Frank Sinatra at the Movies. Hale.
External links
Sinatra family website
Frank Sinatra webradio
Sinatra at the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Frank Sinatra at FBI Records: The Vault
The Sinatra Report, a special section of Billboard's November 20, 1965, issue – beginning immediately after page 34
"Sinatra in Retrospective, Parts 1 and 2," WXXI Public Broadcasting, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Frank Sinatra at Find a Grave
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"The Joker Is Wild is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Charles Vidor, starring Frank Sinatra, Mitzi Gaynor, Jeanne Crain, and Eddie Albert, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is about Joe E. Lewis, the popular singer and comedian who was a major attraction in nightclubs from the 1920s to the early 1950s.\n\nPlot\nIn 1929 Joe E. Lewis is a successful night-club singer in Chicago while working for the Mob during the Prohibition era. His decision to work elsewhere displeases his mob employer who has his thugs assault him by slashing his face and throat, preventing him from continuing his career as a singer.\n\nAfter many years he eventually recovers and turns his acerbic and witty sense of humor into an act when given a break as a stand-up comedian from singer Sophie Tucker. Soon, Lewis makes a career for himself as a comic, but heavy drinking and a self-destructive behavior leads him to question what his life has become and how he has hurt the people around him including his wife Martha and his best friend Austin.\n\nCast\n Frank Sinatra as Joe E. Lewis\n Mitzi Gaynor as Martha Stewart\n Jeanne Crain as Letty Page\n Eddie Albert as Austin Mack\n Beverly Garland as Cassie Mack\n Jackie Coogan as Swifty Morgan\n Barry Kelley as Captain Hugh McCarthy\n Ted de Corsia as Georgie Parker\n Leonard Graves as Tim Coogan\n Valerie Allen as Flora, Chorine\n Hank Henry as Burlesque Comedian\n Sophie Tucker as herself\n\nProduction\nSinatra read Art Cohn's book The Joker Is Wild: The Story of Joe E. Lewis during the mid-'50s, was immediately taken by the story, and bought the rights to the book after Lewis himself turned down a reported $150,000 from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for the film rights to his story. Variety reported in November 1955 that Paramount Pictures would finance what was, for all intents and purposes, an independent feature film which was headed by Lewis and Sinatra along with director Charles Vidor and author Art Cohn. Each of the four partners were paid a reported $400,000, along with 75% of the film's net profits. The New York Times would report that Sinatra's share was in the region of $125,000 along with 25% of the film's profits.\n\nThe filming of the movie was mostly done later in the day, Sinatra preferring to work at that time and the filming schedule being tailored around this. Sinatra also insisted that all the musical scenes in the film and songs therein be recorded live on set to keep the performances more genuine. Frank Sinatra: \"When I do a concert and someone coughs, I like that,\" Sinatra remarked. \"I like the scraping of chairs. You get the feeling that it's really happening. I've always thought Lewis was one of only about four or five great artists in this century - one of them was Jolson - and I remember him screaming like the devil when he made a soundtrack.\" (from All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra)\n\nCritical reception\nThe Joker Is Wild opened to mostly favorable reviews.\n\nLos Angeles Times reviewer Phillip K. Scheuer: \"[Sinatra] catches the bitter inner restlessness almost too well...When Lewis, highball in hand, is reciting them [the drunk monologues] his natural clown's grin takes the curse off their cynicism; from Sinatra the gags come out bitter and barbed.\"\n\nFilms and Filming reviewer Gordon Gow: \"One consolation in the glossy gloom of this downbeat drama is that Frank Sinatra has sufficient talent and taste to break through the wall of embarrassment that is bound to arise between an audience and the film case-history of an unanonymous alcoholic.\"\n\nVariety commented on the \"major job Sinatra does... alternately sympathetic and pathetic, funny and sad.\"\n\nThis movie won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Original Song, for \"All the Way\" by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. When the film was re-released some years later, the title was changed for a period to All the Way due to the immense popularity of the film's theme song, which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard.\n\nSinatra actually became friends with the real Lewis, who commented that \"You (Sinatra) had more fun playing my life than I had living it.\"\n\nSee also\n List of American films of 1957\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \nThe Joker Is Wild review in Variety\n\n1957 films\n1950s biographical drama films\n1950s musical drama films\nAmerican films\nAmerican biographical drama films\nAmerican black-and-white films\nAmerican musical drama films\nEnglish-language films\nFilms about alcoholism\nFilms directed by Charles Vidor\nFilms scored by Walter Scharf\nFilms set in Chicago\nFilms set in the 1920s\nFilms set in the 1930s\nFilms set in the 1940s\nFilms that won the Best Original Song Academy Award\nParamount Pictures films\nFilms based on biographies\nFilms based on works by American writers\n1957 drama films\nBiographical films about entertainers",
"Pal Joey is a 1957 American musical comedy film directed by George Sidney, loosely adapted from the Rodgers and Hart musical play of the same name, and starring Rita Hayworth, Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. Jo Ann Greer sang for Hayworth, as she had done previously in Affair in Trinidad (1952) and Miss Sadie Thompson (1953). Novak's singing voice was dubbed by Trudy Stevens. The choreography was managed by Hermes Pan. Nelson Riddle handled the musical arrangements for the Rodgers and Hart standards \"The Lady Is a Tramp\", \"I Didn't Know What Time It Was\", \"I Could Write a Book\", and \"There's a Small Hotel\".\n\nSinatra won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role as the wise-cracking, hard-bitten Joey Evans. Along with its strong box-office success, Pal Joey earned four Academy Award nominations and one Golden Globe Award nomination. \n \nPal Joey is one of Sinatra's few post-From Here to Eternity films in which he did not receive top billing, which surprisingly went to Hayworth. Sinatra was, by this time, a bigger star, and his title role was predominant. When asked about the billing, Sinatra replied, \"Ladies first.\" He was quoted as saying that, as it was a Columbia film, Hayworth should have top billing because \"For years, she was Columbia Pictures\" and that with regard to being billed \"between\" Hayworth and Novak: \"That's a sandwich I don't mind being stuck in the middle of.\" As Columbia's biggest star, Hayworth had been top-billed in every film since Cover Girl in 1944, but her tenure was to end in 1959 with Gary Cooper in They Came to Cordura.\n\nSinatra's earnings from the film paid for his new home in Palm Springs. He was so delighted that he also built a restaurant there dedicated to the film, named Pal Joey's.\n\nPlot\n\nIn San Francisco, Joey Evans is a second-rate singer, a heel known for his womanizing ways (calling women \"mice\"), but charming and funny. When Joey meets Linda English, a naive chorus girl, he has stirrings of real feelings. However, that does not stop him from romancing a former flame and ex-stripper (Joey says, \"She used to be 'Vera Vanessa the undresser...with the Vanishing Veils'\"), now society matron Vera Prentice-Simpson, a wealthy, willful, and lonely widow, in order to convince her to finance Chez Joey, a night club of his own.\n\nSoon Joey is involved with Vera, each using the other for his/her own somewhat selfish purposes. however, Joey's feelings for Linda are growing. Ultimately, Vera jealously demands that Joey fire Linda. When Joey refuses (\"Nobody owns Joey but Joey\"), Vera closes down Chez Joey. Linda visits Vera and agrees to quit in an attempt to keep the club open. Vera then agrees to open the club and even offers to marry Joey, but Joey rejects Vera. As Joey is leaving for Sacramento, Linda runs after him, offering to go wherever he is headed. After half-hearted refusals, Joey gives in, and they walk away together.\n\nCast\n\n Rita Hayworth as Vera Prentice-Simpson\n Frank Sinatra as \"Pal\" Joey Evans \n Kim Novak as Linda English\n Barbara Nichols as Gladys \n Bobby Sherwood as Ned Galvin\n Judy Dan as hat check girl (uncredited)\n Hank Henry as Mike Miggins\n Bek Nelson as Lola\n\nNotable changes\nThe happy ending of the film contrasts with the conclusion of the stage musical, where Joey is left alone at the end.\n\nThe transformation of Joey into a \"nice guy\" diverges from the stage musical, where Joey's character is an anti-hero. Joey is also older in the film—on stage he was played by 28-year old Gene Kelly; here, 42-year old Sinatra takes the reins. \n\nThe film differs from the stage musical in other key points: the setting was moved from Chicago to San Francisco, and on stage Joey was a dancer. The plot of the film drops a blackmail attempt, and two roles prominent on stage were changed: Melba (a reporter) was cut, and Gladys became a minor character. Linda became a naive chorus girl instead of an innocent stenographer and some of the lyrics to \"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered\" were changed. Also in the film, Vera Prentice-Simpson is a wealthy widow and former stripper (billed as Vanessa the Undresser) and thus gets to sing the song \"Zip\". (Since that number requires an authentic burlesque drummer to mime the bumps and grinds, the extra playing the drums is disconcertingly swapped with a professional musician in a jump cut).\n\nSong list\nOf the original 14 Rodgers and Hart songs, eight remained, but with two as instrumental background, and four songs were added from other shows.\n\nPal Joey: Main Title \n\"That Terrific Rainbow\" - chorus girls and Linda English \n\"I Didn't Know What Time It Was\" (introduced in the 1939 musical Too Many Girls) - Joey Evans\n\"Do It the Hard Way\" - orchestra and chorus girls \n\"Great Big Town\" - Joey Evans and chorus girls \n\"There's a Small Hotel\" (introduced in the 1936 musical On Your Toes) - Joey Evans\n\"Zip\" - Vera Simpson\n\"I Could Write a Book\" - Joey Evans and Linda English \n\"The Lady Is a Tramp\" (introduced in the 1937 musical Babes in Arms) - Joey Evans\n\"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered\" - Vera Simpson \n\"Plant You Now, Dig You Later\" - orchestra \n\"My Funny Valentine\" (introduced in the 1937 musical Babes in Arms) - Linda English\n\"You Mustn't Kick It Around\" - orchestra \nStrip Number - \"I Could Write a Book\" -Linda English\nDream Sequence and Finale: \"What Do I Care for a Dame\"/\"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered\"/\"I Could Write a Book\" - Joey Evans\n\nSoundtrack\nSome of the recordings on the soundtrack album featuring Sinatra only are not the same songs that appeared in the film. \"The Lady Is a Tramp\" is a mono-only outtake from Sinatra's 1957 album A Swingin' Affair!, while three others (\"There's a Small Hotel\", \"Bewitched\", and \"I Could Write a Book\") were recorded in mono only at Capitol Studios. \"I Didn't Know What Time It Was\" appeared in an odd hybrid: The first half of the song was recorded at Columbia Pictures but differs from the version used in the film, while the second half is the same as used in the film, also recorded at Columbia. \"What Do I Care for a Dame\" is the film version, as recorded at Columbia. The Sinatra songs as they appear in the film as well as those performed by Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak (both were dubbed), Jo Ann Greer (Hayworth) and Trudi Erwin (Novak) were recorded at Columbia Pictures studios in true stereo.\n\nCharts\n\nCritical reception and box office\nOpening to positive reviews on October 25, 1957, Pal Joey was an instant success with critics and the general public alike. Variety stated, \"Pal Joey is a strong, funny entertainment. Dorothy Kingsley's screenplay, from John O'Hara's book, is skillful rewriting, with colorful characters and solid story built around the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart songs. Total of 14 tunes are intertwined with the plot, 10 of them being reprised from the original. Others by the same team of cleffers are 'I Didn't Know What Time It Was', 'The Lady Is a Tramp', 'There's a Small Hotel' and 'Funny Valentine'.\"\n\nThe New York Times stated, \"This is largely Mr. Sinatra's show...he projects a distinctly bouncy likeable personality into an unusual role. And his rendition of the top tunes, notably \"The Lady Is a Tramp\" and \"Small Hotel,\" gives added lustre to these indestructible standards.\"\n\nWith theatrical rentals of $4.7 million in the United States and Canada, Pal Joey was ranked by Variety as one of the 10 highest-earning films of 1957. It earned rentals of $7 million worldwide.\n\nAwards and nominations\n\nOther honors\n\nThe film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:\n 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:\n \"My Funny Valentine\" – Nominated\n 2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals – Nominated\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links\n\n \n \n \n \n\n1957 films\n1957 musical comedy films\nAmerican films\nAmerican musical comedy films\nColumbia Pictures films\nEnglish-language films\nFilms based on American novels\nFilms based on musicals\nFilms directed by George Sidney\nFilms featuring a Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe winning performance\nFilms set in San Francisco\nFilms shot in San Francisco"
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[
"Frank Sinatra",
"Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941-1952)",
"When did Sinatra debut?",
"Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing \"I'll Never Smile Again\" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers.",
"When did he hit his slump",
"The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline \"Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52\".",
"What musical films was Sinatra in?",
"In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days."
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C_e101f90c705f425d906b30efdbf86cdb_1
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Did he win any awards or honors for his movies?
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Did Frank Sinatra win any awards or honors for his movies?
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Frank Sinatra
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Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic towards his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers. In 1943 he had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures. In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1946, Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River. In 1949, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52". CANNOTANSWER
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and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
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Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally viewed as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide.
Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his film career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia.
While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". He led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He later married Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. After Sinatra's death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Early life
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—damage that remained for life. Due to his injuries at birth, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from cystic acne that further scarred his face and neck. Sinatra was raised in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven, and biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality traits and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, also ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.
Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien. He later worked for 24 years at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the player piano for spare change. During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as the "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows.
Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz, at a young age. He listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly, and idolized Bing Crosby. Sinatra's maternal uncle, Domenico, gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances. He left without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness". To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found Sinatra work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Garrick worked, and after that, Sinatra was a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He performed in local Hoboken social clubs such as The Cat's Meow and The Comedy Club, and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, who was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.
Music career
Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey (1935–1939)
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing at All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone but Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin", and "Every Day of My Life".
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with the group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, opening the show with "Stardust". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey". Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.
In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded over forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with "Say It" and "Imagination", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance was "I'll Never Smile Again", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include "Our Love Affair" and "Stardust" in 1940; "Oh! Look at Me Now", "Dolores", "Everything Happens to Me", and "This Love of Mine" in 1941; "Just as Though You Were There", "Take Me", and "There Are Such Things" in 1942; and "It Started All Over Again", "In the Blue of Evening", and "It's Always You" in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "Night and Day", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Song is You", and "Lamplighter's Serenade" at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited, you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".
After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby, but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying as Sinatra left, "I hope you fall on your ass", but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes. Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti, coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, holding a gun to his head. Upon leaving Dorsey, Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Up until his death in November 1956, Dorsey occasionally made biting comments about Sinatra to the press such as "he's the most fascinating man in the world, but don't put your hand in the cage".
Onset of Sinatramania and role in World War II (1942–1945)
By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans, and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944 only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and accost his person in the form of stealing clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow-tie.
Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943 during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All", which reached number 2 on June 2, and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he also made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba, and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released "You'll Never Know", "Close to You", "Sunday, Monday, or Always" and "People Will Say We're in Love" as singles. By the end of 1943 he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Bob Eberly, and Dick Haymes.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of a perforated eardrum. However, U.S. Army files reported that Sinatra was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint", but his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers. During one trip to Rome he met the Pope, who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944 Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Crosby's "White Christmas", and the following year he released "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", "Dream", and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" as singles.
Columbia years and career slump (1946–1952)
Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946 he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $93,000 a week.
In 1946 Sinatra released "Oh! What it Seemed to Be", "Day by Day", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Five Minutes More", and "The Coffee Song" as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness", and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning". He was soon selling 10million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase at the time, which consisted of teenage girls. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra, featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean?" and Harold Arlen's and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are". "Mam'selle", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund, Dick Haymes, Dennis Day, and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December he recorded "Sweet Lorraine" with the Metronome All-Stars, featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers, with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of the highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch".
Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, was originally released in 1948 as a 78rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church. By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeats annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby). and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat, who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life".
Though "The Hucklebuck" reached the top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including "Lover", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "It All Depends on You", on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!.
Cementing the low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans from a heart attack in January 1950 at 48. According to Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words", as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the bobbysoxers. Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke out in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and the destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he had met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to suffering a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which "absolutely destroyed him".
In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self absorption". Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks", but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers". Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's single-engine plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter, who had previously worked at the Copa in New York. Sinatra typically performed there three times a year, and later acquired a share in the hotel.
Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident at his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas he performed to half-filled houses of wildcatters and ranchers. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people in a 1,200-seat capacity venue turned up to see him. By April 1952 he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was also disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" the singer's records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as "If I Could Write a Book" in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now", was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith. Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson."
Career revival and the Capitol years (1953–1962)
The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase". On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You", Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity, Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle, an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, "I've Got the World on a String", Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!"
In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on the arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers, was released on January 4, 1954, and included "A Foggy Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "My Funny Valentine", "Violets for Your Furs" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No. 2 and was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single "Three Coins in the Fountain", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy!, which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included "Just One of Those Things", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Get Happy", and "All of Me". Swing Easy! was named Album of the Year by Billboard, and he was also named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard, DownBeat, and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world", and Riddle, who considered Sinatra "a perfectionist", offered equal praise of the singer, observing, "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempi, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable... there is still no one who can approach him."
In 1955 Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours, his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Mood Indigo", "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "When Your Lover Has Gone". According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood". Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year. Another collaboration with Riddle resulted in the development of Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, sometimes seen as one of his best albums, which was released in March 1956. It features a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, something which Sinatra paid meticulous care to, taking a reported 22 takes to perfect.
His February 1956 recording sessions inaugurated the studios at the Capitol Records Building, complete with a 56-piece symphonic orchestra. According to Granata his recordings of "Night and Day", "Oh! Look at Me Now" and "From This Moment On" revealed "powerful sexual overtones, stunningly achieved through the mounting tension and release of Sinatra's best-teasing vocal lines", while his recording of "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" in April demonstrated his "brilliance as a syncopational improviser". Riddle said that Sinatra took "particular delight" in singing "The Lady is a Tramp", commenting that he "always sang that song with a certain amount of salaciousness", making "cue tricks" with the lyrics. His penchant for conducting was displayed again in 1956's Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color, an instrumental album that has been interpreted to be a catharsis to his failed relationship with Gardner. Also that year, Sinatra sang at the Democratic National Convention, and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterwards at the Paramount Theatre.
In 1957, Sinatra released Close to You, A Swingin' Affair! and Where Are You?—his first album in stereo, with Gordon Jenkins. Granata considers "Close to You" to have been thematically his closest concept album to perfection during the "golden" era, and Nelson Riddle's finest work, which was "extremely progressive" by the standards of the day. It is structured like a three-act play, each commencing with the songs "With Every Breath I Take", "Blame It on My Youth" and "It Could Happen to You". For Granata, Sinatra's A Swingin' Affair! and swing music predecessor Songs for Swingin' Lovers! solidified "Sinatra's image as a 'swinger', from both a musical and visual standpoint". Buddy Collette considered the swing albums to have been heavily influenced by Sammy Davis Jr., and stated that when he worked with Sinatra in the mid-1960s he approached a song much differently than he had done in the early 1950s. On June 9, 1957, he performed in a 62-minute concert conducted by Riddle at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, his first appearance in Seattle since 1945. The recording was first released as a bootleg, but in 1999 Artanis Entertainment Group officially released it as the Sinatra '57 in Concert live album, after Sinatra's death. In 1958 Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour. It reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in its second week, remaining at the top for five weeks, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards. The title song, "Come Fly With Me", written especially for him, would become one of his best known standards. On May 29 he recorded seven songs in a single session, more than double the usual yield of a recording session, and an eighth was planned, "Lush Life", but Sinatra found it too technically demanding. In September, Sinatra released Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads which proved a huge commercial success, spending 120 weeks on Billboards album chart and peaking at No.1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of the "saloon song" segments of Sinatra's concerts.
In 1959, Sinatra released Come Dance with Me!, a highly successful, critically acclaimed album which stayed on Billboard's Pop album chart for 140 weeks, peaking at No. 2. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Arrangement for Billy May. He also released No One Cares in the same year, a collection of "brooding, lonely" torch songs, which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought was "nearly as good as its predecessor Where Are You?, but lacked the "lush" arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of Only the Lonely.
In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but had "assumed the position of il padrone in Hollywood". He was asked by 20th Century Fox to be the master of ceremonies at a luncheon attended by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on September 19, 1959. Nice 'n' Easy, a collection of ballads, topped the Billboard chart in October 1960 and remained in the charts for 86 weeks, winning critical plaudits. Granata noted the "lifelike ambient sound" quality of Nice and Easy, the perfection in the stereo balance, and the "bold, bright and snappy" sound of the band. He highlighted the "close, warm and sharp" feel of Sinatra's voice, particularly on the songs "September in the Rain", "I Concentrate on You", and "My Blue Heaven".
Reprise years (1961–1981)
Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol, and fell into a feud with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months. His first attempt at owning his own label was with his pursuit of buying declining jazz label, Verve Records, which ended once an initial agreement with Verve founder, Norman Granz, "failed to materialize." He decided to form his own label, Reprise Records and, in an effort to assert his new direction, temporarily parted with Riddle, May and Jenkins, working with other arrangers such as Neil Hefti, Don Costa, and Quincy Jones. Sinatra built the appeal of Reprise Records as one in which artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on Billboard. The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's The Warm Moods, Sammy Davis Jr.'s The Wham of Sam, Mavis River's Mavis and Joe E. Lewis's It is Now Post Time. During the initial years of Reprise, Sinatra was still under contract to record for Capitol, completing his contractual commitment with the release of Point of No Return, recorded over a two-day period on September 11 and 12, 1961.
In 1962, Sinatra released Sinatra and Strings, a set of standard ballads arranged by Don Costa, which became one of the most critically acclaimed works of Sinatra's entire Reprise period. Frank Jr., who was present during the recording, noted the "huge orchestra", which Nancy Sinatra stated "opened a whole new era" in pop music, with orchestras getting bigger, embracing a "lush string sound". Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones. The two became frequent performers together, and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.
In 1963, Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle. The concert was recorded on a motion picture scoring soundstage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed an optical signal onto 35mm film designed for movie soundtracks. Granata considers the album to have been "impeachable" [sic], "one of the very best of the Sinatra-Riddle ballad albums", in which Sinatra displayed an impressive vocal range, particularly in "Ol' Man River", in which he darkened the hue.
In 1964 the song "My Kind of Town" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra released Softly, as I Leave You, and collaborated with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring on America, I Hear You Singing, a collection of patriotic songs recorded as a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period. In 1961 and 1962 he went to Mexico, with the sole purpose of putting on performances for Mexican charities, and in July 1964 he was present for the dedication of the Frank Sinatra International Youth Center for Arab and Jewish children in Nazareth.
Sinatra's phenomenal success in 1965, coinciding with his 50th birthday, prompted Billboard to proclaim that he may have reached the "peak of his eminence". In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin played live in St. Louis to benefit Dismas House, a prisoner rehabilitation and training center with nationwide programs that in particular helped serve African Americans. The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. The album September of My Years was released September 1965, and went on to win the Grammy Award for best album of the year. Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist". One of the album's singles, "It Was a Very Good Year", won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male. A career anthology, A Man and His Music, followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys the following year.
In 1966 Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboards pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting. Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year, when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes, after a fight.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. He recorded one of his collaborations with Jobim, the Grammy-nominated album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, which was one of the best-selling albums of the year, behind the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to Santopietro the album "consists of an extraordinarily effective blend of bossa nova and slightly swinging jazz vocals, and succeeds in creating an unbroken mood of romance and regret". Writer Stan Cornyn wrote that Sinatra sang so softly on the album that it was comparable to the time that he suffered from a vocal hemorrhage in 1950.
Sinatra also released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K.. According to Granata, the recording of "Indian Summer" on the album was a favorite of Riddle's, noting the "contemplative mood [which] is heightened by a Johnny Hodges alto sax solo that will bring a tear to your eye". With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", using the melody of the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968. "My Way", Sinatra's best-known song on the Reprise label, was not an instant success, charting at No. 27 in the US and No. 5 in the UK, but it remained in the UK charts for 122 weeks, including 75 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 40, between April 1969 and September 1971, which was still a record in 2015. Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song, because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute", professing that he "hated boastfulness in others".
In an effort to maintain his commercial viability in the late 1960s, Sinatra would record works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), the Beatles ("Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides, Now") in 1969.
"Retirement" and return (1970–1981)
In 1970, Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio (of the Four Seasons) and lyrics by Jake Holmes. However, it sold a mere 30,000 copies that year and reached a peak chart position of 101. He left Caesars Palace in September that year after an incident where executive Sanford Waterman pulled a gun on him. He performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On November 2, 1970, Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund. He gave a "rousing" performance of "That's Life", and finished the concert with a Matt Dennis and Earl Brent song, "Angel Eyes" which he had recorded on the Only The Lonely album in 1958. He sang the last line."'Scuse me while I disappear." The spotlight went dark and he left the stage. He told LIFE journalist Thomas Thompson that "I've got things to do, like the first thing is not to do at all for eight months... maybe a year", while Barbara Sinatra later said that Sinatra had grown "tired of entertaining people, especially when all they really wanted were the same old tunes he had long ago become bored by". While he was in retirement, President Richard Nixon asked him to perform at a Young Voters Rally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20, 1972.
In 1973, Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album. The album, entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly. He initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing. That Christmas he performed at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and returned to Caesars Palace the following month in January 1974, despite previously vowing to perform there again [sic]. He began what Barbara Sinatra describes as a "massive comeback tour of the United States, Europe, the Far East and Australia". In July, while on a second tour of Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there– who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference– as "bums, parasites, fags, and buck-and-a-half hookers". After he was pressured to apologize, Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". Union actions cancelled concerts and grounded Sinatra's plane, essentially trapping him in Australia. In the end, Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, arranged for Sinatra to issue a written conciliatory note and a final concert that was televised to the nation. In October 1974 he appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month.
In 1975, Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days. In August he held several consecutive concerts at Lake Tahoe together with the newly-risen singer John Denver, who became a frequent collaborator. Sinatra had recorded Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "My Sweet Lady" for Sinatra & Company (1971), and according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request for his new grandchild, Angela. During the Labor Day weekend held in 1976, Sinatra was responsible for reuniting old friends and comedy partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis for the first time in nearly twenty years, when they performed at the "Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon". That year, the Friars Club selected him as the "Top Box Office Name of the Century", and he was given the Scopus Award by the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada.
Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s, and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him. He cancelled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados. In March, he performed in front of Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall in London, raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On March 14, he recorded with Nelson Riddle for the last time, recording the songs "Linda", "Sweet Loraine", and "Barbara". The two men had a major falling out, and later patched up their differences in January 1985 at a dinner organized for Ronald Reagan, when Sinatra asked Riddle to make another album with him. Riddle was ill at the time, and died that October, before they had a chance to record.
In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles. During a party at Caesars in 1979, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. That year, former President Gerald Ford awarded Sinatra the International Man of the Year Award, and he performed in front of the Egyptian pyramids for Anwar Sadat, which raised more than $500,000 for Sadat's wife's charities.
In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that features an array of songs from both the pre-rock era and rock era. It was the first studio album of Sinatra's to feature his touring pianist at the time, Vinnie Falcone, and was based on an idea by Sonny Burke. The album garnered six Grammy nominations– winning for best liner notes– and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, and spawned yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York". That year, as part of the Concert of the Americas, he performed in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which broke records for the "largest live paid audience ever recorded for a solo performer". The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that was praised for embodying the dark tone of his Capitol years. Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. President Lucas Mangope awarded Sinatra with the highest honor, the Order of the Leopard, and made him an honorary tribal chief.
Later career (1982–1998)
Santopietro stated that by the early 1980s, Sinatra's voice had "coarsened, losing much of its power and flexibility, but audiences didn't care". In 1982, he signed a $16million three-year deal with the Golden Nugget of Las Vegas. Kelley notes that by this period Sinatra's voice had grown "darker, tougher and loamier", but he "continued to captivate audiences with his immutable magic". She added that his baritone voice "sometimes cracked, but the gliding intonations still aroused the same raptures of delight as they had at the Paramount Theater". That year he made a reported further $1.3million from the Showtime television rights to his "Concert of the Americas" in the Dominican Republic, $1.6million for a concert series at Carnegie Hall, and $250,000 in just one evening at the Chicago Fest. He donated a lot of his earnings to charity. He put on a performance at the White House for the Italian prime minister, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.
Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James, President Reagan said in honoring his old friend that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow". On September 21, 1983, Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published. The book became a best-seller for "all the wrong reasons" and "the most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time", according to William Safire of The New York Times. Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life. According to Kelley, the family detested her and the book, which took its toll on Sinatra's health. Kelley says that Tina Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986. He was forced to drop the case on September 19, 1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about his views on censorship.
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. In 1986, Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail. Two years later, Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas. When Martin dropped out of the tour early on, a rift developed between them and the two never spoke again.
On June 6, 1988, Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album which was not released. He recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me A River", and other songs. Sinatra never completed the project, but take number 18 of "My Foolish Heart" may be heard in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995).
In 1990, Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony. Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991 and 84 in 1992 in seventeen different countries.
In 1993, Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album. The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.
During his tours in the early 1990s, his memory failed him at times during concerts, and he fainted onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March 1994. His final public concerts were held in Fukuoka Dome in Japan on December 19–20, 1994. The following year, Sinatra sang for the last time on February 25, 1995, before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss– the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, featuring performers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Natalie Cole and Salt-N-Pepa singing his songs. At the end of the program Sinatra performed on stage for the last time to sing the final notes of the "Theme from New York, New York" with an ensemble. In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Artistry
While Sinatra never learned how to read music well, he had a fine, natural understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. He could follow a lead sheet (simplified sheet music showing a song's basic structure) during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences. Granata states that some of the most accomplished classically trained musicians soon noticed his musical understanding, and remarked that Sinatra had a "sixth sense", which "demonstrated unusual proficiency when it came to detecting incorrect notes and sounds within the orchestra". Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters. His personal favorite was Ralph Vaughan Williams. He would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.
By the mid 1940s, such was his understanding of music that after hearing an air check of some compositions by Alec Wilder which were for strings and woodwinds, he became the conductor at Columbia Records for six of Wilder's compositions: "Air for Oboe", "Air for English Horn", "Air for Flute", "Air for Bassoon", "Slow Dance" and "Theme and Variations". The works, which combine elements of jazz and classical music, were considered by Wilder to have been among the finest renditions and recordings of his compositions, past or present. At one recording session with arranger Claus Ogerman and an orchestra, Sinatra heard "a couple of little strangers" in the string section, prompting Ogerman to make corrections to what were thought to be copyist's errors. Critic Gene Lees, a lyricist and the author of the words to the Jobim melody "This Happy Madness", expressed amazement when he heard Sinatra's recording of it on Sinatra & Company (1971), considering him to have delivered the lyrics to perfection.
Voice coach John Quinlan was impressed by Sinatra's vocal range, remarking, "He has far more voice than people think he has. He can vocalize to a B-flat on top in full voice, and he doesn't need a mic either". As a singer, early on he was primarily influenced by Bing Crosby, but later believed that Tony Bennett was "the best singer in the business". Bennett also praised Sinatra himself, claiming that as a performer, he had "perfected the art of intimacy." According to Nelson Riddle, Sinatra had a "fairly rangy voice", remarking that "His voice has a very strident, insistent sound in the top register, a smooth lyrical sound in the middle register, and a very tender sound in the low. His voice is built on infinite taste, with an overall inflection of sex. He points everything he does from a sexual standpoint". Despite his heavy New Jersey accent, according to Richard Schuller, when Sinatra sang his accent was barely detectable, with his diction becoming "precise" and articulation "meticulous". His timing was impeccable, allowing him, according to Charles L. Granata, to "toy with the rhythm of a melody, bringing tremendous excitement to his reading of a lyric". Tommy Dorsey observed that Sinatra would "take a musical phrase and play it all the way through seemingly without breathing for eight, ten, maybe sixteen bars". Dorsey was a considerable influence on Sinatra's techniques for his vocal phrasing with his own exceptional breath control on the trombone, and Sinatra regularly swam and held his breath underwater, thinking of song lyrics to increase his breathing power.
Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with a sense of uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament. Granata comments that Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others. On days when he felt that his voice was not right, he would know after only a few notes and would postpone the recording session until the following day, yet still pay his musicians. After a period of performing, Sinatra tired of singing a certain set of songs and was always looking for talented new songwriters and composers to work with. Once he found ones that he liked, he actively sought to work with them as often as he could, and made friends with many of them. He once told Sammy Cahn, who wrote songs for Anchors Aweigh, "if you're not there Monday, I'm not there Monday". Over the years he recorded 87 of Cahn's songs, of which 24 were composed by Jule Styne, and 43 by Jimmy Van Heusen. The Cahn-Styne partnership lasted from 1942 until 1954, when Van Heusen succeeded him as Sinatra's main composer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings. He would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record, and would keep an arranger in mind for each song. If it was a mellow love song, he would ask for Gordon Jenkins. If it was a "rhythm" number, he would think of Billy May, or perhaps Neil Hefti or some other favored arranger. Jenkins considered Sinatra's musical sense to be unerring. His changes to Riddle's charts would frustrate Riddle, yet he would usually concede that Sinatra's ideas were superior. Barbara Sinatra notes that Sinatra would almost always credit the songwriter at the end of each number, and would often make comments to the audience, such as "Isn't that a pretty ballad" or "Don't you think that's the most marvelous love song", delivered with "childlike delight". She states that after each show, Sinatra would be "in a buoyant, electrically charged mood, a post-show high that would take him hours to come down from as he quietly relived every note of the performance he'd just given".
Sinatra's split with Gardner in the fall of 1953 had a profound impact on the types of songs he sang and on his voice. He began to console himself in songs with a "brooding melancholy", such as "I'm a Fool to Want You", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "My One and Only Love" and "There Will Never Be Another You", which Riddle believed was the direct influence of Ava Gardner. Lahr comments that the new Sinatra was "not the gentle boy balladeer of the forties. Fragility had gone from his voice, to be replaced by a virile adult's sense of happiness and hurt". Author Granata considered Sinatra a "master of the art of recording", noting that his work in the studio "set him apart from other gifted vocalists". During his career he made over 1000 recordings. Recording sessions would typically last three hours, though Sinatra would always prepare for them by spending at least an hour by the piano beforehand to vocalize, followed by a short rehearsal with the orchestra to ensure the balance of sound. During his Columbia years Sinatra used an RCA 44 microphone, which Granata describes as "the 'old-fashioned' microphone which is closely associated with Sinatra's crooner image of the 1940s", though when performing on talk shows later he used a bullet-shaped RCA 77. At Capitol he used a Neumann U47, an "ultra-sensitive" microphone which better captured the timbre and tone of his voice.
In the 1950s, Sinatra's career was facilitated by developments in technology. Up to sixteen songs could now be held by the twelve-inch L.P., and this allowed Sinatra to use song in a novelistic way, turning each track in a kind of chapter, which built and counterpointed moods to illuminate a larger theme". Santopietro writes that through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, "Every Sinatra LP was a masterpiece of one sort of another, whether uptempo, torch song, or swingin' affairs. Track after track, the brilliant concept albums redefined the nature of pop vocal art".
Film career
Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941–1952)
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic about his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights (1941), singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers. He had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly (1943), making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". Next, he was given leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively (both 1944) for RKO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".
Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town (also 1949), playing a sailor on leave in New York City. The film remains rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
Career comeback and prime (1953–1959)
Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953) deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role which would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film. During production, Montgomery Clift became a close friend, and Sinatra later professed that he "learned more about acting from him than anybody I ever knew before". After several years of critical and commercial decline, his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world. His performance also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".
Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart (1954), and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly (also 1954).
Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). After roles in Guys and Dolls, and The Tender Trap (both 1955), Sinatra was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a medical student in Stanley Kramer's directorial début, Not as a Stranger (also 1955). During production, Sinatra got drunk with Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford and trashed Kramer's dressing room. Kramer vowed to never hire Sinatra again at the time, and later regretted casting him as a Spanish guerrilla leader in The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture. The public rushed to the cinemas to see Sinatra and Crosby together on-screen, and it ended up earning over $13million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing pictures of its year. He starred opposite Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak in George Sidney's Pal Joey (1957), Sinatra, for which he won for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Santopietro considers the scene in which Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to Hayworth to have been the finest moment of his film career. He next portrayed comedian Joe E. Lewis in The Joker Is Wild (also 1957); the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By 1958, Sinatra was one of the ten biggest box office draws in the United States, appearing with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running and Kings Go Forth (both 1958) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. "High Hopes", sung by Sinatra in the Frank Capra comedy, A Hole in the Head (1959), won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became a chart hit, lasting on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks.
Later career (1960–1980)
Due to an obligation he owed to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Henry King's Carousel (1956), Sinatra starred opposite Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan in Can-Can (1960). He earned $200,000 and 25% of the profits for the performance. Around the same time, he starred in the Las Vegas-set Ocean's 11 (also 1960), the first film to feature the Rat Pack together and the start of a "new era of screen cool" for Santopietro. Sinatra personally financed the film, and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000 respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period. He had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career. Vincent Canby, writing for the magazine Variety, found the portrayal of Sinatra's character to be "a wide-awake pro creating a straight, quietly humorous character of some sensitivity." He appeared with the Rat Pack in the western Sergeants 3 (also 1962), following it with 4 for Texas (1963). For his performance in Come Blow Your Horn (also 1963) adapted from the Neil Simon play, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor– Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Sinatra directed None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a major success, However, in the mid 1960s, Brad Dexter wanted to "breathe new life" into Sinatra's film career by helping him display the same professional pride in his films as he did his recordings. On one occasion, he gave Sinatra Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) to read, with the idea of making a film, but Sinatra thought it had no potential and did not understand a word.
In the late 1960s, Sinatra became known for playing detectives, including Tony Rome in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also played a similar role in The Detective (1968).
Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics. The following year, Sinatra received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and had intended to play Detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), but had to turn the role down due to developing Dupuytren's contracture in his hand. Sinatra's last major film role was opposite Faye Dunaway in Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin (1980). Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.
Television and radio career
After beginning on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show with the Hoboken Four in 1935, and later WNEW and WAAT in Jersey City, Sinatra became the star of radio shows of his own on NBC and CBS from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s. In 1942, Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work. By the end of 1942, he was named the "Most Popular Male Vocalist on Radio" in a DownBeat poll. Early on he frequently worked with The Andrews Sisters on radio, and they would appear as guests on each other's shows, as well as on many USO shows broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). He appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS. Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28, 1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day. Starting in September 1949, the BBD&O advertising agency produced a radio series starring Sinatra for Lucky Strike called Light Up Time– some 176 15-minute shows which featured Frank and Dorothy Kirsten singing– which lasted through to May 1950.
In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. Santopietro writes that Sinatra "simply never appeared fully at ease on his own television series, his edgy, impatient personality conveying a pent up energy on the verge of exploding". In 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune, portraying Rocco Fortunato (a.k.a. Rocky Fortune), a "footloose and fancy free" temporary worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbles into crime-solving. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954.
In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows. ABC agreed to allow Sinatra's Hobart Productions to keep 60% of the residuals, and bought stock in Sinatra's film production unit, Kent Productions, guaranteeing him $7million. Though an initial critical success upon its debut on October 18, 1957, it soon attracted negative reviews from Variety and The New Republic, and The Chicago Sun-Times thought that Sinatra and frequent guest Dean Martin "performed like a pair of adult delinquents", "sharing the same cigarette and leering at girls". In return, Sinatra later made numerous appearances on The Dean Martin Show and Martin's TV specials.
Sinatra's fourth and final Timex TV special, Welcome Home Elvis, was broadcast in March 1960, earning massive viewing figures. During the show, he performed a duet with Presley, who sang Sinatra's 1957 hit "Witchcraft" with the host performing the 1956 Presley classic "Love Me Tender". Sinatra had previously been highly critical of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in the 1950s, describing it as a "deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac" which "fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." A CBS News special about the singer's 50th birthday, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, was broadcast on November 16, 1965, and garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
According his musical collaboration with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967, Sinatra appeared in the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, which was broadcast on CBS on November 13. When Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he released both an album and appeared in a TV special named Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song-and-dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly. In the late 1970s, John Denver appeared as a guest in the Sinatra and Friends ABC-TV Special, singing "September Song" as a duet.
Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street (1977), cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film". Ten years later, he made a guest appearance opposite Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., playing a retired policeman who teams up with Selleck to find his granddaughter's murderer. Shot in January 1987, the episode aired on CBS on February 25.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy (born 1940), Frank Jr. (1944–2016) and Tina (born 1948), with his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (née Barbato, 1917–2018), to whom he was married from 1939 to 1951.
Sinatra had met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey in the summer of 1934, while working as a lifeguard. He agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" which led to his arrest. Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, and Joi Lansing.
Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957. It was a turbulent marriage with many well-publicized fights and altercations. The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.
Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962. He married Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966, a short marriage that ended with divorce in Mexico in August 1968. They remained close friends for life, and in a 2013 interview Farrow said that Sinatra might be the father of her son Ronan Farrow (born 1987). In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Nancy Sinatra dismissed the claim as "nonsense".
Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death. The couple married on July 11, 1976, at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, California, the estate of media magnate Walter Annenberg.
Sinatra was close friends with Jilly Rizzo, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, golfer Ken Venturi, comedian Pat Henry and baseball manager Leo Durocher. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music and attended concerts when he could. He swam daily in the Pacific Ocean, finding it to be therapeutic and giving him much-needed solitude. He often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived, and liked painting, reading, and building model railways.
Though Sinatra was critical of the Church on numerous occasions and had a pantheistic, Einstein-like view of God in his earlier life, he was inducted into the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1976, and he turned to Roman Catholicism for healing after his mother died in a plane crash in 1977. He died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.
Style and personality
Sinatra was known for his immaculate sense of style. He spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important, and that he was giving his very best to the audience. He was also obsessed with cleanliness—while with the Tommy Dorsey band he developed the nickname "Lady Macbeth", because of frequent showering and switching his outfits. His deep blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes".
For Santopietro, Sinatra was the personification of America in the 1950s: "cocky, eye on the main chance, optimistic, and full of the sense of possibility". Barbara Sinatra wrote, "A big part of Frank's thrill was the sense of danger that he exuded, an underlying, ever-present tension only those closest to him knew could be defused with humor". Cary Grant, a friend of Sinatra, stated that Sinatra was the "most honest person he'd ever met", who spoke "a simple truth, without artifice which scared people", and was often moved to tears by his performances. Jo-Caroll Dennison commented that he possessed "great inner strength", and that his energy and drive were "enormous". A workaholic, he reportedly only slept four hours a night on average. Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of mild to severe depression, stating to an interviewer in the 1950s that "I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation". Barbara Sinatra stated that he would "snap at anyone for the slightest misdemeanor", while Van Heusen said that when Sinatra got drunk it was "best to disappear".
Sinatra's mood swings often developed into violence, directed at people he felt had crossed him, particularly journalists who gave him scathing reviews, publicists, and photographers. According to Rojek he was "capable of deeply offensive behavior that smacked of a persecution complex". He received negative press for fights with Lee Mortimer in 1947, photographer Eddie Schisser in Houston in 1950, Judy Garland's publicist Jim Byron on the Sunset Strip in 1954, and for a confrontation with Washington Post journalist Maxine Cheshire in 1973, in which he implied that she was a cheap prostitute.
His feud with then-Chicago Sun Times columnist Mike Royko began when Royko wrote a column questioning why Chicago police offered free protection to Sinatra when the singer had his own security. Sinatra fired off an angry letter in response calling Royko a "pimp", and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupée. Royko auctioned the letter, the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The winner of the auction was Vie Carlson, mother of Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick. After appearing on Antiques Roadshow, Carlson consigned the letter to Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, which auctioned it in 2010.
Sinatra was also known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback. Kelley notes that when Lee J. Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come. In another instance, after an argument with manager Bobby Burns, rather than apologize, Sinatra bought him a brand new Cadillac.
Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime. Willie Moretti was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra". He was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, and the two men were seen playing golf together. Kelley quotes Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel, and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed. Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster Joseph Fischetti had been good friends from 1938 onward, and acted like "Sicilian brothers". She also states that Sinatra and Hank Sanicola were financial partners with Mickey Cohen in the gossip magazine Hollywood Night Life.
The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics, and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime. Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie".
In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, a casino hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line on the north shores of Lake Tahoe. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater which attracted his show business friends Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, Victor Borge, Joe E. Lewis, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters, and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel. Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily stripped by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises. Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands. That year, his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped but was eventually released unharmed. Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from Ronald Reagan.
Politics and activism
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward leader, and after meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, he subsequently heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 presidential election. According to Jo Carroll Silvers, in his younger years Sinatra had "ardent liberal" sympathies, and was "so concerned about poor people that he was always quoting Henry Wallace". He was outspoken against racism, particularly toward blacks and Italians, from early on. In November 1945 Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal. His comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a Communist, which he said was not true. In the 1948 presidential election, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Of all the U.S. presidents he associated with during his career, he was closest to John F. Kennedy. Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together. In January 1961 Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C., held on the evening before President Kennedy was sworn into office. After taking office, Kennedy decided to cut ties with Sinatra due, in part, to the singer's ties with the Mafia. His brother Robert, who was serving as Attorney General and was known for urging FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to conduct even more crackdowns on the Mafia, was even more distrustful of Sinatra.
In 1962, Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy, whom he first met in the 1950s, officially ended when Kennedy officially decided to remove Sinatra, who never shook off rumors of affiliation with the Mafia, from his "gang." Sinatra was snubbed by the President during his visit to Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived, when he decided to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby, due to FBI concerns about Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Despite also having ties with the Mafia, Crosby was not willing to give as many public hints as Sinatra. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he later smashed up with a sledgehammer upon being rejected. Despite the snub, when he learned of Kennedy's assassination he reportedly sobbed in his bedroom for three days.
Sinatra worked with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, and remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s. Although still a registered Democrat, Sinatra endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California in 1970. He officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election.
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan and donated $4million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously. In 1985, Reagan presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, remarking, "His love of country, his generosity for those less fortunate... make him one of our most remarkable and distinguished Americans."
Santopietro notes that Sinatra was a "lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes". He was awarded the Hollzer Memorial Award by the Los Angeles Jewish Community in 1949. He gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962, and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) to the Youth Center in Jerusalem. On November 1, 1972, he raised $6.5million in bond pledges for Israel, and was given the Medallion of Valor for his efforts. The Frank Sinatra Student Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was dedicated in his name in 1978. He owned a Jewish skullcap, known as a kippah or yarmulkah, which was sold as part of his wife's estate many years after his death.
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights. He blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children. Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s. At the Sands in 1955, Sinatra went against policy by inviting Nat King Cole into the dining room, and in 1961, after an incident where an African-American couple entered the lobby of the hotel and were blocked by the security guard, Sinatra and Davis forced the hotel management to begin hiring black waiters and busboys. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. According to his son, Frank Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore. When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues. Though he did much towards civil rights causes, it did not stop the occasional racial jibe from him and the other Rat Pack members toward Davis at concerts.
Death
Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, with his wife by his side after suffering two heart attacks. Sinatra was in ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He also suffered from dementia-like symptoms due to his usage of antidepressants. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and reported that his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her siblings (Frank Jr. and Nancy) had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for one minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit and his grave was adorned with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Legacy and honors
Robert Christgau referred to Sinatra as "the greatest singer of the 20th century". His popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. For Santopietro, Sinatra was the "greatest male pop singer in the history of America", who amassed "unprecedented power onscreen and off", and "seemed to exemplify the common man, an ethnic twentieth-century American male who reached the 'top of the heap', yet never forgot his roots". Santopietro argues that Sinatra created his own world, which he was able to dominate—his career was centred around power, perfecting the ability to capture an audience. Encyclopædia Britannica referred to Sinatra as "often hailed as the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music....Through his life and his art, he transcended the status of mere icon to become one of the most recognizable symbols of American culture."
Gus Levene commented that Sinatra's strength was that when it came to lyrics, telling a story musically, Sinatra displayed a "genius" ability and feeling, which with the "rare combination of voice and showmanship" made him the "original singer" which others who followed most tried to emulate. George Roberts, a trombonist in Sinatra's band, remarked that Sinatra had a "charisma, or whatever it is about him, that no one else had". Biographer Arnold Shaw considered that "If Las Vegas had not existed, Sinatra could have invented it". He quoted reporter James Bacon in saying that Sinatra was the "swinging image on which the town is built", adding that no other entertainer quite "embodied the glamour" associated with Las Vegas as him. Sinatra continues to be seen as one of the icons of the 20th century,
and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music. There are stars on east and west sides of the 1600 block of Vine Street respectively, and one on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.
In Sinatra's native Hoboken, he was awarded the Key to the City of by Mayor Fred M. De Sapio on October 30, 1947. In 2003 the city's main post office was rededicated in his honor. A bronze plaque, place two years before Sinatra’s death in 1998, marks the site of the house where he was born. There is also a marker in front of Hoboken Historical Museum, which has artifacts from his life and conducts Sinatra walking tours through the city. Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. On the waterfront is Frank Sinatra Park, where a bronze plaque was placed in 1989 upon its opening. A tall bronze statue of Sinatra dedicated in 2021 on December 12, the date of Sinatra's birthday in 1915.
A residence hall at Montclair State University in New Jersey was named in his honor.Other buildings named for Sinatra include the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem dedicated in 1978, and the Frank Sinatra Hall at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, dedicated in 2002. Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Sinatra which opened in 2008. Items of memorabilia from Sinatra's life and career are displayed at USC's Frank Sinatra Hall and Wynn Resort's Sinatra restaurant. Near the Las Vegas Strip is a road named Frank Sinatra Drive in his honor. The United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra in May 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death. The United States Congress passed a resolution introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.
Sinatra received three Honorary Degrees during his lifetime. In May 1976, he was invited to speak at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) graduation commencement held at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was at this commencement that he was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate litterarum humanarum by the university. During his speech, Sinatra stated that his education had come from "the school of hard knocks" and was suitably touched by the award. He went on to describe that "this is the first educational degree I have ever held in my hand. I will never forget what you have done for me today". A few years later in 1984 and 1985, Sinatra also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Film and television portrayals
Sinatra has been portrayed on numerous occasions in film and television. A television miniseries based on Sinatra's life, titled Sinatra, was aired by CBS in 1992. The series was directed by James Steven Sadwith, who won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone, and produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina.
Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack, 1998), James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, 2003), Dennis Hopper (The Night We Called It a Day, 2003), and Robert Knepper (My Way, 2012), and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. A biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese has long been planned. A 1998 episode of the BBC documentary series Arena, The Voice of the Century, focused on Sinatra. Alex Gibney directed a four-part biographical series on Sinatra, All or Nothing at All, for HBO in 2015. A musical tribute was aired on CBS television in December 2015 to mark Sinatra's centenary. Sinatra was also portrayed by Rico Simonini in the 2018 feature film Frank & Ava, which is based on a play by Willard Manus.
Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".
In December 2020, it was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will portray Frank Sinatra in Reagan, a biopic of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Discography
The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)
Songs by Sinatra (1947)
Christmas Songs by Sinatra (1948)
Frankly Sentimental (1949)
Dedicated to You (1950)
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (1950)
Songs for Young Lovers (1954)
Swing Easy! (1954)
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956)
Close to You (1957)
A Swingin' Affair! (1957)
Where Are You? (1957)
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)
Come Fly with Me (1958)
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
Come Dance with Me! (1959)
No One Cares (1959)
Nice 'n' Easy (1960)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (1961)
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Come Swing with Me! (1961)
Swing Along With Me (1961)
I Remember Tommy (1961)
Sinatra and Strings (1962)
Point of No Return (1962)
Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (1962)
All Alone (1962)
Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (1962)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First with Count Basie (1962)
The Concert Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra's Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
Softly, as I Leave You (1964)
September of My Years (1965)
My Kind of Broadway (1965)
A Man and His Music (1965)
Moonlight Sinatra (1966)
Strangers in the Night (1966)
That's Life (1966)
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
The World We Knew (1967)
Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington (1968)
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas with Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra (1968)
Cycles (1968)
My Way (1969)
A Man Alone (1969)
Watertown (1970)
Sinatra & Company with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1971)
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973)
Some Nice Things I've Missed (1974)
Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
She Shot Me Down (1981)
L.A. Is My Lady (1984)
Duets (1993)
Duets II (1994)
See also
Frank Sinatra bibliography
Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy
The Frank Sinatra Show (radio program)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Freedland, Michael (1998). All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra. St. Martin's Press.
Kaplan, James (2015). Sinatra: The chairman. New York: Doubleday.
Pickard, Roy (1994). Frank Sinatra at the Movies. Hale.
External links
Sinatra family website
Frank Sinatra webradio
Sinatra at the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Frank Sinatra at FBI Records: The Vault
The Sinatra Report, a special section of Billboard's November 20, 1965, issue – beginning immediately after page 34
"Sinatra in Retrospective, Parts 1 and 2," WXXI Public Broadcasting, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Frank Sinatra at Find a Grave
Frank Sinatra
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| true |
[
"The AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Buddy Picture is one of the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards presented annually by the AARP. The award honors the best film from a given year that is about friendship between people over the age of 50. The award for Best Buddy Picture was first given at the 7th AARP Movies for Grownups Awards. Other new awards that year were Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.\n\nNo award for Best Buddy Picture was given for movies premiering in 2011, 2017, or 2018. In 2020, AARP listed five nominees for Best Buddy Picture from 2019, but did not award any of them.\n\nWinners and Nominees\n\n2000s\n\n2010s\n\n2020s\n\nFootnotes\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican film awards\nAARP",
"The AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Ensemble is one of the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards presented annually by the AARP. The award honors the best film ensemble in a movie made by or about people over the age of 50. The award for Best Buddy Picture was first given at the 17th AARP Movies for Grownups Awards in 2018.\n\nWinners and Nominees\n\n2010s\n\n2020s\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican film awards\nAARP"
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[
"Frank Sinatra",
"Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941-1952)",
"When did Sinatra debut?",
"Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing \"I'll Never Smile Again\" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers.",
"When did he hit his slump",
"The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline \"Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52\".",
"What musical films was Sinatra in?",
"In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days.",
"Did he win any awards or honors for his movies?",
"and the song \"I Fall in Love Too Easily\", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song."
] |
C_e101f90c705f425d906b30efdbf86cdb_1
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What other films was Sinatra in?
| 5 |
Besides Anchors Aweigh, what other films was Frank Sinatra in?
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Frank Sinatra
|
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic towards his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers. In 1943 he had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures. In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1946, Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River. In 1949, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52". CANNOTANSWER
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Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians.
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Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally viewed as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide.
Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his film career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia.
While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". He led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He later married Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. After Sinatra's death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Early life
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—damage that remained for life. Due to his injuries at birth, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from cystic acne that further scarred his face and neck. Sinatra was raised in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven, and biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality traits and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, also ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.
Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien. He later worked for 24 years at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the player piano for spare change. During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as the "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows.
Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz, at a young age. He listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly, and idolized Bing Crosby. Sinatra's maternal uncle, Domenico, gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances. He left without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness". To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found Sinatra work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Garrick worked, and after that, Sinatra was a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He performed in local Hoboken social clubs such as The Cat's Meow and The Comedy Club, and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, who was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.
Music career
Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey (1935–1939)
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing at All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone but Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin", and "Every Day of My Life".
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with the group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, opening the show with "Stardust". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey". Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.
In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded over forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with "Say It" and "Imagination", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance was "I'll Never Smile Again", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include "Our Love Affair" and "Stardust" in 1940; "Oh! Look at Me Now", "Dolores", "Everything Happens to Me", and "This Love of Mine" in 1941; "Just as Though You Were There", "Take Me", and "There Are Such Things" in 1942; and "It Started All Over Again", "In the Blue of Evening", and "It's Always You" in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "Night and Day", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Song is You", and "Lamplighter's Serenade" at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited, you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".
After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby, but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying as Sinatra left, "I hope you fall on your ass", but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes. Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti, coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, holding a gun to his head. Upon leaving Dorsey, Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Up until his death in November 1956, Dorsey occasionally made biting comments about Sinatra to the press such as "he's the most fascinating man in the world, but don't put your hand in the cage".
Onset of Sinatramania and role in World War II (1942–1945)
By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans, and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944 only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and accost his person in the form of stealing clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow-tie.
Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943 during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All", which reached number 2 on June 2, and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he also made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba, and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released "You'll Never Know", "Close to You", "Sunday, Monday, or Always" and "People Will Say We're in Love" as singles. By the end of 1943 he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Bob Eberly, and Dick Haymes.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of a perforated eardrum. However, U.S. Army files reported that Sinatra was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint", but his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers. During one trip to Rome he met the Pope, who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944 Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Crosby's "White Christmas", and the following year he released "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", "Dream", and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" as singles.
Columbia years and career slump (1946–1952)
Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946 he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $93,000 a week.
In 1946 Sinatra released "Oh! What it Seemed to Be", "Day by Day", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Five Minutes More", and "The Coffee Song" as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness", and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning". He was soon selling 10million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase at the time, which consisted of teenage girls. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra, featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean?" and Harold Arlen's and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are". "Mam'selle", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund, Dick Haymes, Dennis Day, and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December he recorded "Sweet Lorraine" with the Metronome All-Stars, featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers, with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of the highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch".
Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, was originally released in 1948 as a 78rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church. By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeats annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby). and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat, who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life".
Though "The Hucklebuck" reached the top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including "Lover", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "It All Depends on You", on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!.
Cementing the low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans from a heart attack in January 1950 at 48. According to Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words", as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the bobbysoxers. Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke out in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and the destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he had met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to suffering a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which "absolutely destroyed him".
In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self absorption". Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks", but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers". Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's single-engine plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter, who had previously worked at the Copa in New York. Sinatra typically performed there three times a year, and later acquired a share in the hotel.
Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident at his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas he performed to half-filled houses of wildcatters and ranchers. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people in a 1,200-seat capacity venue turned up to see him. By April 1952 he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was also disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" the singer's records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as "If I Could Write a Book" in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now", was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith. Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson."
Career revival and the Capitol years (1953–1962)
The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase". On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You", Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity, Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle, an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, "I've Got the World on a String", Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!"
In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on the arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers, was released on January 4, 1954, and included "A Foggy Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "My Funny Valentine", "Violets for Your Furs" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No. 2 and was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single "Three Coins in the Fountain", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy!, which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included "Just One of Those Things", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Get Happy", and "All of Me". Swing Easy! was named Album of the Year by Billboard, and he was also named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard, DownBeat, and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world", and Riddle, who considered Sinatra "a perfectionist", offered equal praise of the singer, observing, "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempi, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable... there is still no one who can approach him."
In 1955 Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours, his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Mood Indigo", "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "When Your Lover Has Gone". According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood". Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year. Another collaboration with Riddle resulted in the development of Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, sometimes seen as one of his best albums, which was released in March 1956. It features a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, something which Sinatra paid meticulous care to, taking a reported 22 takes to perfect.
His February 1956 recording sessions inaugurated the studios at the Capitol Records Building, complete with a 56-piece symphonic orchestra. According to Granata his recordings of "Night and Day", "Oh! Look at Me Now" and "From This Moment On" revealed "powerful sexual overtones, stunningly achieved through the mounting tension and release of Sinatra's best-teasing vocal lines", while his recording of "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" in April demonstrated his "brilliance as a syncopational improviser". Riddle said that Sinatra took "particular delight" in singing "The Lady is a Tramp", commenting that he "always sang that song with a certain amount of salaciousness", making "cue tricks" with the lyrics. His penchant for conducting was displayed again in 1956's Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color, an instrumental album that has been interpreted to be a catharsis to his failed relationship with Gardner. Also that year, Sinatra sang at the Democratic National Convention, and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterwards at the Paramount Theatre.
In 1957, Sinatra released Close to You, A Swingin' Affair! and Where Are You?—his first album in stereo, with Gordon Jenkins. Granata considers "Close to You" to have been thematically his closest concept album to perfection during the "golden" era, and Nelson Riddle's finest work, which was "extremely progressive" by the standards of the day. It is structured like a three-act play, each commencing with the songs "With Every Breath I Take", "Blame It on My Youth" and "It Could Happen to You". For Granata, Sinatra's A Swingin' Affair! and swing music predecessor Songs for Swingin' Lovers! solidified "Sinatra's image as a 'swinger', from both a musical and visual standpoint". Buddy Collette considered the swing albums to have been heavily influenced by Sammy Davis Jr., and stated that when he worked with Sinatra in the mid-1960s he approached a song much differently than he had done in the early 1950s. On June 9, 1957, he performed in a 62-minute concert conducted by Riddle at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, his first appearance in Seattle since 1945. The recording was first released as a bootleg, but in 1999 Artanis Entertainment Group officially released it as the Sinatra '57 in Concert live album, after Sinatra's death. In 1958 Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour. It reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in its second week, remaining at the top for five weeks, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards. The title song, "Come Fly With Me", written especially for him, would become one of his best known standards. On May 29 he recorded seven songs in a single session, more than double the usual yield of a recording session, and an eighth was planned, "Lush Life", but Sinatra found it too technically demanding. In September, Sinatra released Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads which proved a huge commercial success, spending 120 weeks on Billboards album chart and peaking at No.1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of the "saloon song" segments of Sinatra's concerts.
In 1959, Sinatra released Come Dance with Me!, a highly successful, critically acclaimed album which stayed on Billboard's Pop album chart for 140 weeks, peaking at No. 2. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Arrangement for Billy May. He also released No One Cares in the same year, a collection of "brooding, lonely" torch songs, which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought was "nearly as good as its predecessor Where Are You?, but lacked the "lush" arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of Only the Lonely.
In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but had "assumed the position of il padrone in Hollywood". He was asked by 20th Century Fox to be the master of ceremonies at a luncheon attended by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on September 19, 1959. Nice 'n' Easy, a collection of ballads, topped the Billboard chart in October 1960 and remained in the charts for 86 weeks, winning critical plaudits. Granata noted the "lifelike ambient sound" quality of Nice and Easy, the perfection in the stereo balance, and the "bold, bright and snappy" sound of the band. He highlighted the "close, warm and sharp" feel of Sinatra's voice, particularly on the songs "September in the Rain", "I Concentrate on You", and "My Blue Heaven".
Reprise years (1961–1981)
Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol, and fell into a feud with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months. His first attempt at owning his own label was with his pursuit of buying declining jazz label, Verve Records, which ended once an initial agreement with Verve founder, Norman Granz, "failed to materialize." He decided to form his own label, Reprise Records and, in an effort to assert his new direction, temporarily parted with Riddle, May and Jenkins, working with other arrangers such as Neil Hefti, Don Costa, and Quincy Jones. Sinatra built the appeal of Reprise Records as one in which artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on Billboard. The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's The Warm Moods, Sammy Davis Jr.'s The Wham of Sam, Mavis River's Mavis and Joe E. Lewis's It is Now Post Time. During the initial years of Reprise, Sinatra was still under contract to record for Capitol, completing his contractual commitment with the release of Point of No Return, recorded over a two-day period on September 11 and 12, 1961.
In 1962, Sinatra released Sinatra and Strings, a set of standard ballads arranged by Don Costa, which became one of the most critically acclaimed works of Sinatra's entire Reprise period. Frank Jr., who was present during the recording, noted the "huge orchestra", which Nancy Sinatra stated "opened a whole new era" in pop music, with orchestras getting bigger, embracing a "lush string sound". Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones. The two became frequent performers together, and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.
In 1963, Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle. The concert was recorded on a motion picture scoring soundstage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed an optical signal onto 35mm film designed for movie soundtracks. Granata considers the album to have been "impeachable" [sic], "one of the very best of the Sinatra-Riddle ballad albums", in which Sinatra displayed an impressive vocal range, particularly in "Ol' Man River", in which he darkened the hue.
In 1964 the song "My Kind of Town" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra released Softly, as I Leave You, and collaborated with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring on America, I Hear You Singing, a collection of patriotic songs recorded as a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period. In 1961 and 1962 he went to Mexico, with the sole purpose of putting on performances for Mexican charities, and in July 1964 he was present for the dedication of the Frank Sinatra International Youth Center for Arab and Jewish children in Nazareth.
Sinatra's phenomenal success in 1965, coinciding with his 50th birthday, prompted Billboard to proclaim that he may have reached the "peak of his eminence". In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin played live in St. Louis to benefit Dismas House, a prisoner rehabilitation and training center with nationwide programs that in particular helped serve African Americans. The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. The album September of My Years was released September 1965, and went on to win the Grammy Award for best album of the year. Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist". One of the album's singles, "It Was a Very Good Year", won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male. A career anthology, A Man and His Music, followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys the following year.
In 1966 Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboards pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting. Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year, when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes, after a fight.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. He recorded one of his collaborations with Jobim, the Grammy-nominated album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, which was one of the best-selling albums of the year, behind the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to Santopietro the album "consists of an extraordinarily effective blend of bossa nova and slightly swinging jazz vocals, and succeeds in creating an unbroken mood of romance and regret". Writer Stan Cornyn wrote that Sinatra sang so softly on the album that it was comparable to the time that he suffered from a vocal hemorrhage in 1950.
Sinatra also released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K.. According to Granata, the recording of "Indian Summer" on the album was a favorite of Riddle's, noting the "contemplative mood [which] is heightened by a Johnny Hodges alto sax solo that will bring a tear to your eye". With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", using the melody of the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968. "My Way", Sinatra's best-known song on the Reprise label, was not an instant success, charting at No. 27 in the US and No. 5 in the UK, but it remained in the UK charts for 122 weeks, including 75 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 40, between April 1969 and September 1971, which was still a record in 2015. Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song, because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute", professing that he "hated boastfulness in others".
In an effort to maintain his commercial viability in the late 1960s, Sinatra would record works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), the Beatles ("Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides, Now") in 1969.
"Retirement" and return (1970–1981)
In 1970, Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio (of the Four Seasons) and lyrics by Jake Holmes. However, it sold a mere 30,000 copies that year and reached a peak chart position of 101. He left Caesars Palace in September that year after an incident where executive Sanford Waterman pulled a gun on him. He performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On November 2, 1970, Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund. He gave a "rousing" performance of "That's Life", and finished the concert with a Matt Dennis and Earl Brent song, "Angel Eyes" which he had recorded on the Only The Lonely album in 1958. He sang the last line."'Scuse me while I disappear." The spotlight went dark and he left the stage. He told LIFE journalist Thomas Thompson that "I've got things to do, like the first thing is not to do at all for eight months... maybe a year", while Barbara Sinatra later said that Sinatra had grown "tired of entertaining people, especially when all they really wanted were the same old tunes he had long ago become bored by". While he was in retirement, President Richard Nixon asked him to perform at a Young Voters Rally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20, 1972.
In 1973, Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album. The album, entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly. He initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing. That Christmas he performed at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and returned to Caesars Palace the following month in January 1974, despite previously vowing to perform there again [sic]. He began what Barbara Sinatra describes as a "massive comeback tour of the United States, Europe, the Far East and Australia". In July, while on a second tour of Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there– who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference– as "bums, parasites, fags, and buck-and-a-half hookers". After he was pressured to apologize, Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". Union actions cancelled concerts and grounded Sinatra's plane, essentially trapping him in Australia. In the end, Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, arranged for Sinatra to issue a written conciliatory note and a final concert that was televised to the nation. In October 1974 he appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month.
In 1975, Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days. In August he held several consecutive concerts at Lake Tahoe together with the newly-risen singer John Denver, who became a frequent collaborator. Sinatra had recorded Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "My Sweet Lady" for Sinatra & Company (1971), and according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request for his new grandchild, Angela. During the Labor Day weekend held in 1976, Sinatra was responsible for reuniting old friends and comedy partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis for the first time in nearly twenty years, when they performed at the "Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon". That year, the Friars Club selected him as the "Top Box Office Name of the Century", and he was given the Scopus Award by the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada.
Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s, and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him. He cancelled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados. In March, he performed in front of Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall in London, raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On March 14, he recorded with Nelson Riddle for the last time, recording the songs "Linda", "Sweet Loraine", and "Barbara". The two men had a major falling out, and later patched up their differences in January 1985 at a dinner organized for Ronald Reagan, when Sinatra asked Riddle to make another album with him. Riddle was ill at the time, and died that October, before they had a chance to record.
In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles. During a party at Caesars in 1979, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. That year, former President Gerald Ford awarded Sinatra the International Man of the Year Award, and he performed in front of the Egyptian pyramids for Anwar Sadat, which raised more than $500,000 for Sadat's wife's charities.
In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that features an array of songs from both the pre-rock era and rock era. It was the first studio album of Sinatra's to feature his touring pianist at the time, Vinnie Falcone, and was based on an idea by Sonny Burke. The album garnered six Grammy nominations– winning for best liner notes– and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, and spawned yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York". That year, as part of the Concert of the Americas, he performed in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which broke records for the "largest live paid audience ever recorded for a solo performer". The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that was praised for embodying the dark tone of his Capitol years. Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. President Lucas Mangope awarded Sinatra with the highest honor, the Order of the Leopard, and made him an honorary tribal chief.
Later career (1982–1998)
Santopietro stated that by the early 1980s, Sinatra's voice had "coarsened, losing much of its power and flexibility, but audiences didn't care". In 1982, he signed a $16million three-year deal with the Golden Nugget of Las Vegas. Kelley notes that by this period Sinatra's voice had grown "darker, tougher and loamier", but he "continued to captivate audiences with his immutable magic". She added that his baritone voice "sometimes cracked, but the gliding intonations still aroused the same raptures of delight as they had at the Paramount Theater". That year he made a reported further $1.3million from the Showtime television rights to his "Concert of the Americas" in the Dominican Republic, $1.6million for a concert series at Carnegie Hall, and $250,000 in just one evening at the Chicago Fest. He donated a lot of his earnings to charity. He put on a performance at the White House for the Italian prime minister, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.
Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James, President Reagan said in honoring his old friend that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow". On September 21, 1983, Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published. The book became a best-seller for "all the wrong reasons" and "the most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time", according to William Safire of The New York Times. Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life. According to Kelley, the family detested her and the book, which took its toll on Sinatra's health. Kelley says that Tina Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986. He was forced to drop the case on September 19, 1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about his views on censorship.
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. In 1986, Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail. Two years later, Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas. When Martin dropped out of the tour early on, a rift developed between them and the two never spoke again.
On June 6, 1988, Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album which was not released. He recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me A River", and other songs. Sinatra never completed the project, but take number 18 of "My Foolish Heart" may be heard in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995).
In 1990, Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony. Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991 and 84 in 1992 in seventeen different countries.
In 1993, Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album. The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.
During his tours in the early 1990s, his memory failed him at times during concerts, and he fainted onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March 1994. His final public concerts were held in Fukuoka Dome in Japan on December 19–20, 1994. The following year, Sinatra sang for the last time on February 25, 1995, before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss– the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, featuring performers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Natalie Cole and Salt-N-Pepa singing his songs. At the end of the program Sinatra performed on stage for the last time to sing the final notes of the "Theme from New York, New York" with an ensemble. In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Artistry
While Sinatra never learned how to read music well, he had a fine, natural understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. He could follow a lead sheet (simplified sheet music showing a song's basic structure) during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences. Granata states that some of the most accomplished classically trained musicians soon noticed his musical understanding, and remarked that Sinatra had a "sixth sense", which "demonstrated unusual proficiency when it came to detecting incorrect notes and sounds within the orchestra". Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters. His personal favorite was Ralph Vaughan Williams. He would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.
By the mid 1940s, such was his understanding of music that after hearing an air check of some compositions by Alec Wilder which were for strings and woodwinds, he became the conductor at Columbia Records for six of Wilder's compositions: "Air for Oboe", "Air for English Horn", "Air for Flute", "Air for Bassoon", "Slow Dance" and "Theme and Variations". The works, which combine elements of jazz and classical music, were considered by Wilder to have been among the finest renditions and recordings of his compositions, past or present. At one recording session with arranger Claus Ogerman and an orchestra, Sinatra heard "a couple of little strangers" in the string section, prompting Ogerman to make corrections to what were thought to be copyist's errors. Critic Gene Lees, a lyricist and the author of the words to the Jobim melody "This Happy Madness", expressed amazement when he heard Sinatra's recording of it on Sinatra & Company (1971), considering him to have delivered the lyrics to perfection.
Voice coach John Quinlan was impressed by Sinatra's vocal range, remarking, "He has far more voice than people think he has. He can vocalize to a B-flat on top in full voice, and he doesn't need a mic either". As a singer, early on he was primarily influenced by Bing Crosby, but later believed that Tony Bennett was "the best singer in the business". Bennett also praised Sinatra himself, claiming that as a performer, he had "perfected the art of intimacy." According to Nelson Riddle, Sinatra had a "fairly rangy voice", remarking that "His voice has a very strident, insistent sound in the top register, a smooth lyrical sound in the middle register, and a very tender sound in the low. His voice is built on infinite taste, with an overall inflection of sex. He points everything he does from a sexual standpoint". Despite his heavy New Jersey accent, according to Richard Schuller, when Sinatra sang his accent was barely detectable, with his diction becoming "precise" and articulation "meticulous". His timing was impeccable, allowing him, according to Charles L. Granata, to "toy with the rhythm of a melody, bringing tremendous excitement to his reading of a lyric". Tommy Dorsey observed that Sinatra would "take a musical phrase and play it all the way through seemingly without breathing for eight, ten, maybe sixteen bars". Dorsey was a considerable influence on Sinatra's techniques for his vocal phrasing with his own exceptional breath control on the trombone, and Sinatra regularly swam and held his breath underwater, thinking of song lyrics to increase his breathing power.
Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with a sense of uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament. Granata comments that Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others. On days when he felt that his voice was not right, he would know after only a few notes and would postpone the recording session until the following day, yet still pay his musicians. After a period of performing, Sinatra tired of singing a certain set of songs and was always looking for talented new songwriters and composers to work with. Once he found ones that he liked, he actively sought to work with them as often as he could, and made friends with many of them. He once told Sammy Cahn, who wrote songs for Anchors Aweigh, "if you're not there Monday, I'm not there Monday". Over the years he recorded 87 of Cahn's songs, of which 24 were composed by Jule Styne, and 43 by Jimmy Van Heusen. The Cahn-Styne partnership lasted from 1942 until 1954, when Van Heusen succeeded him as Sinatra's main composer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings. He would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record, and would keep an arranger in mind for each song. If it was a mellow love song, he would ask for Gordon Jenkins. If it was a "rhythm" number, he would think of Billy May, or perhaps Neil Hefti or some other favored arranger. Jenkins considered Sinatra's musical sense to be unerring. His changes to Riddle's charts would frustrate Riddle, yet he would usually concede that Sinatra's ideas were superior. Barbara Sinatra notes that Sinatra would almost always credit the songwriter at the end of each number, and would often make comments to the audience, such as "Isn't that a pretty ballad" or "Don't you think that's the most marvelous love song", delivered with "childlike delight". She states that after each show, Sinatra would be "in a buoyant, electrically charged mood, a post-show high that would take him hours to come down from as he quietly relived every note of the performance he'd just given".
Sinatra's split with Gardner in the fall of 1953 had a profound impact on the types of songs he sang and on his voice. He began to console himself in songs with a "brooding melancholy", such as "I'm a Fool to Want You", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "My One and Only Love" and "There Will Never Be Another You", which Riddle believed was the direct influence of Ava Gardner. Lahr comments that the new Sinatra was "not the gentle boy balladeer of the forties. Fragility had gone from his voice, to be replaced by a virile adult's sense of happiness and hurt". Author Granata considered Sinatra a "master of the art of recording", noting that his work in the studio "set him apart from other gifted vocalists". During his career he made over 1000 recordings. Recording sessions would typically last three hours, though Sinatra would always prepare for them by spending at least an hour by the piano beforehand to vocalize, followed by a short rehearsal with the orchestra to ensure the balance of sound. During his Columbia years Sinatra used an RCA 44 microphone, which Granata describes as "the 'old-fashioned' microphone which is closely associated with Sinatra's crooner image of the 1940s", though when performing on talk shows later he used a bullet-shaped RCA 77. At Capitol he used a Neumann U47, an "ultra-sensitive" microphone which better captured the timbre and tone of his voice.
In the 1950s, Sinatra's career was facilitated by developments in technology. Up to sixteen songs could now be held by the twelve-inch L.P., and this allowed Sinatra to use song in a novelistic way, turning each track in a kind of chapter, which built and counterpointed moods to illuminate a larger theme". Santopietro writes that through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, "Every Sinatra LP was a masterpiece of one sort of another, whether uptempo, torch song, or swingin' affairs. Track after track, the brilliant concept albums redefined the nature of pop vocal art".
Film career
Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941–1952)
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic about his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights (1941), singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers. He had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly (1943), making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". Next, he was given leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively (both 1944) for RKO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".
Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town (also 1949), playing a sailor on leave in New York City. The film remains rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
Career comeback and prime (1953–1959)
Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953) deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role which would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film. During production, Montgomery Clift became a close friend, and Sinatra later professed that he "learned more about acting from him than anybody I ever knew before". After several years of critical and commercial decline, his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world. His performance also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".
Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart (1954), and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly (also 1954).
Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). After roles in Guys and Dolls, and The Tender Trap (both 1955), Sinatra was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a medical student in Stanley Kramer's directorial début, Not as a Stranger (also 1955). During production, Sinatra got drunk with Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford and trashed Kramer's dressing room. Kramer vowed to never hire Sinatra again at the time, and later regretted casting him as a Spanish guerrilla leader in The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture. The public rushed to the cinemas to see Sinatra and Crosby together on-screen, and it ended up earning over $13million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing pictures of its year. He starred opposite Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak in George Sidney's Pal Joey (1957), Sinatra, for which he won for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Santopietro considers the scene in which Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to Hayworth to have been the finest moment of his film career. He next portrayed comedian Joe E. Lewis in The Joker Is Wild (also 1957); the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By 1958, Sinatra was one of the ten biggest box office draws in the United States, appearing with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running and Kings Go Forth (both 1958) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. "High Hopes", sung by Sinatra in the Frank Capra comedy, A Hole in the Head (1959), won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became a chart hit, lasting on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks.
Later career (1960–1980)
Due to an obligation he owed to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Henry King's Carousel (1956), Sinatra starred opposite Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan in Can-Can (1960). He earned $200,000 and 25% of the profits for the performance. Around the same time, he starred in the Las Vegas-set Ocean's 11 (also 1960), the first film to feature the Rat Pack together and the start of a "new era of screen cool" for Santopietro. Sinatra personally financed the film, and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000 respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period. He had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career. Vincent Canby, writing for the magazine Variety, found the portrayal of Sinatra's character to be "a wide-awake pro creating a straight, quietly humorous character of some sensitivity." He appeared with the Rat Pack in the western Sergeants 3 (also 1962), following it with 4 for Texas (1963). For his performance in Come Blow Your Horn (also 1963) adapted from the Neil Simon play, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor– Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Sinatra directed None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a major success, However, in the mid 1960s, Brad Dexter wanted to "breathe new life" into Sinatra's film career by helping him display the same professional pride in his films as he did his recordings. On one occasion, he gave Sinatra Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) to read, with the idea of making a film, but Sinatra thought it had no potential and did not understand a word.
In the late 1960s, Sinatra became known for playing detectives, including Tony Rome in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also played a similar role in The Detective (1968).
Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics. The following year, Sinatra received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and had intended to play Detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), but had to turn the role down due to developing Dupuytren's contracture in his hand. Sinatra's last major film role was opposite Faye Dunaway in Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin (1980). Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.
Television and radio career
After beginning on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show with the Hoboken Four in 1935, and later WNEW and WAAT in Jersey City, Sinatra became the star of radio shows of his own on NBC and CBS from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s. In 1942, Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work. By the end of 1942, he was named the "Most Popular Male Vocalist on Radio" in a DownBeat poll. Early on he frequently worked with The Andrews Sisters on radio, and they would appear as guests on each other's shows, as well as on many USO shows broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). He appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS. Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28, 1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day. Starting in September 1949, the BBD&O advertising agency produced a radio series starring Sinatra for Lucky Strike called Light Up Time– some 176 15-minute shows which featured Frank and Dorothy Kirsten singing– which lasted through to May 1950.
In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. Santopietro writes that Sinatra "simply never appeared fully at ease on his own television series, his edgy, impatient personality conveying a pent up energy on the verge of exploding". In 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune, portraying Rocco Fortunato (a.k.a. Rocky Fortune), a "footloose and fancy free" temporary worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbles into crime-solving. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954.
In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows. ABC agreed to allow Sinatra's Hobart Productions to keep 60% of the residuals, and bought stock in Sinatra's film production unit, Kent Productions, guaranteeing him $7million. Though an initial critical success upon its debut on October 18, 1957, it soon attracted negative reviews from Variety and The New Republic, and The Chicago Sun-Times thought that Sinatra and frequent guest Dean Martin "performed like a pair of adult delinquents", "sharing the same cigarette and leering at girls". In return, Sinatra later made numerous appearances on The Dean Martin Show and Martin's TV specials.
Sinatra's fourth and final Timex TV special, Welcome Home Elvis, was broadcast in March 1960, earning massive viewing figures. During the show, he performed a duet with Presley, who sang Sinatra's 1957 hit "Witchcraft" with the host performing the 1956 Presley classic "Love Me Tender". Sinatra had previously been highly critical of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in the 1950s, describing it as a "deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac" which "fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." A CBS News special about the singer's 50th birthday, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, was broadcast on November 16, 1965, and garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
According his musical collaboration with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967, Sinatra appeared in the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, which was broadcast on CBS on November 13. When Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he released both an album and appeared in a TV special named Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song-and-dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly. In the late 1970s, John Denver appeared as a guest in the Sinatra and Friends ABC-TV Special, singing "September Song" as a duet.
Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street (1977), cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film". Ten years later, he made a guest appearance opposite Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., playing a retired policeman who teams up with Selleck to find his granddaughter's murderer. Shot in January 1987, the episode aired on CBS on February 25.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy (born 1940), Frank Jr. (1944–2016) and Tina (born 1948), with his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (née Barbato, 1917–2018), to whom he was married from 1939 to 1951.
Sinatra had met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey in the summer of 1934, while working as a lifeguard. He agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" which led to his arrest. Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, and Joi Lansing.
Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957. It was a turbulent marriage with many well-publicized fights and altercations. The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.
Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962. He married Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966, a short marriage that ended with divorce in Mexico in August 1968. They remained close friends for life, and in a 2013 interview Farrow said that Sinatra might be the father of her son Ronan Farrow (born 1987). In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Nancy Sinatra dismissed the claim as "nonsense".
Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death. The couple married on July 11, 1976, at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, California, the estate of media magnate Walter Annenberg.
Sinatra was close friends with Jilly Rizzo, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, golfer Ken Venturi, comedian Pat Henry and baseball manager Leo Durocher. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music and attended concerts when he could. He swam daily in the Pacific Ocean, finding it to be therapeutic and giving him much-needed solitude. He often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived, and liked painting, reading, and building model railways.
Though Sinatra was critical of the Church on numerous occasions and had a pantheistic, Einstein-like view of God in his earlier life, he was inducted into the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1976, and he turned to Roman Catholicism for healing after his mother died in a plane crash in 1977. He died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.
Style and personality
Sinatra was known for his immaculate sense of style. He spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important, and that he was giving his very best to the audience. He was also obsessed with cleanliness—while with the Tommy Dorsey band he developed the nickname "Lady Macbeth", because of frequent showering and switching his outfits. His deep blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes".
For Santopietro, Sinatra was the personification of America in the 1950s: "cocky, eye on the main chance, optimistic, and full of the sense of possibility". Barbara Sinatra wrote, "A big part of Frank's thrill was the sense of danger that he exuded, an underlying, ever-present tension only those closest to him knew could be defused with humor". Cary Grant, a friend of Sinatra, stated that Sinatra was the "most honest person he'd ever met", who spoke "a simple truth, without artifice which scared people", and was often moved to tears by his performances. Jo-Caroll Dennison commented that he possessed "great inner strength", and that his energy and drive were "enormous". A workaholic, he reportedly only slept four hours a night on average. Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of mild to severe depression, stating to an interviewer in the 1950s that "I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation". Barbara Sinatra stated that he would "snap at anyone for the slightest misdemeanor", while Van Heusen said that when Sinatra got drunk it was "best to disappear".
Sinatra's mood swings often developed into violence, directed at people he felt had crossed him, particularly journalists who gave him scathing reviews, publicists, and photographers. According to Rojek he was "capable of deeply offensive behavior that smacked of a persecution complex". He received negative press for fights with Lee Mortimer in 1947, photographer Eddie Schisser in Houston in 1950, Judy Garland's publicist Jim Byron on the Sunset Strip in 1954, and for a confrontation with Washington Post journalist Maxine Cheshire in 1973, in which he implied that she was a cheap prostitute.
His feud with then-Chicago Sun Times columnist Mike Royko began when Royko wrote a column questioning why Chicago police offered free protection to Sinatra when the singer had his own security. Sinatra fired off an angry letter in response calling Royko a "pimp", and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupée. Royko auctioned the letter, the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The winner of the auction was Vie Carlson, mother of Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick. After appearing on Antiques Roadshow, Carlson consigned the letter to Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, which auctioned it in 2010.
Sinatra was also known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback. Kelley notes that when Lee J. Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come. In another instance, after an argument with manager Bobby Burns, rather than apologize, Sinatra bought him a brand new Cadillac.
Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime. Willie Moretti was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra". He was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, and the two men were seen playing golf together. Kelley quotes Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel, and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed. Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster Joseph Fischetti had been good friends from 1938 onward, and acted like "Sicilian brothers". She also states that Sinatra and Hank Sanicola were financial partners with Mickey Cohen in the gossip magazine Hollywood Night Life.
The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics, and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime. Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie".
In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, a casino hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line on the north shores of Lake Tahoe. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater which attracted his show business friends Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, Victor Borge, Joe E. Lewis, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters, and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel. Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily stripped by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises. Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands. That year, his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped but was eventually released unharmed. Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from Ronald Reagan.
Politics and activism
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward leader, and after meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, he subsequently heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 presidential election. According to Jo Carroll Silvers, in his younger years Sinatra had "ardent liberal" sympathies, and was "so concerned about poor people that he was always quoting Henry Wallace". He was outspoken against racism, particularly toward blacks and Italians, from early on. In November 1945 Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal. His comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a Communist, which he said was not true. In the 1948 presidential election, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Of all the U.S. presidents he associated with during his career, he was closest to John F. Kennedy. Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together. In January 1961 Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C., held on the evening before President Kennedy was sworn into office. After taking office, Kennedy decided to cut ties with Sinatra due, in part, to the singer's ties with the Mafia. His brother Robert, who was serving as Attorney General and was known for urging FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to conduct even more crackdowns on the Mafia, was even more distrustful of Sinatra.
In 1962, Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy, whom he first met in the 1950s, officially ended when Kennedy officially decided to remove Sinatra, who never shook off rumors of affiliation with the Mafia, from his "gang." Sinatra was snubbed by the President during his visit to Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived, when he decided to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby, due to FBI concerns about Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Despite also having ties with the Mafia, Crosby was not willing to give as many public hints as Sinatra. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he later smashed up with a sledgehammer upon being rejected. Despite the snub, when he learned of Kennedy's assassination he reportedly sobbed in his bedroom for three days.
Sinatra worked with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, and remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s. Although still a registered Democrat, Sinatra endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California in 1970. He officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election.
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan and donated $4million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously. In 1985, Reagan presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, remarking, "His love of country, his generosity for those less fortunate... make him one of our most remarkable and distinguished Americans."
Santopietro notes that Sinatra was a "lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes". He was awarded the Hollzer Memorial Award by the Los Angeles Jewish Community in 1949. He gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962, and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) to the Youth Center in Jerusalem. On November 1, 1972, he raised $6.5million in bond pledges for Israel, and was given the Medallion of Valor for his efforts. The Frank Sinatra Student Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was dedicated in his name in 1978. He owned a Jewish skullcap, known as a kippah or yarmulkah, which was sold as part of his wife's estate many years after his death.
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights. He blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children. Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s. At the Sands in 1955, Sinatra went against policy by inviting Nat King Cole into the dining room, and in 1961, after an incident where an African-American couple entered the lobby of the hotel and were blocked by the security guard, Sinatra and Davis forced the hotel management to begin hiring black waiters and busboys. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. According to his son, Frank Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore. When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues. Though he did much towards civil rights causes, it did not stop the occasional racial jibe from him and the other Rat Pack members toward Davis at concerts.
Death
Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, with his wife by his side after suffering two heart attacks. Sinatra was in ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He also suffered from dementia-like symptoms due to his usage of antidepressants. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and reported that his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her siblings (Frank Jr. and Nancy) had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for one minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit and his grave was adorned with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Legacy and honors
Robert Christgau referred to Sinatra as "the greatest singer of the 20th century". His popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. For Santopietro, Sinatra was the "greatest male pop singer in the history of America", who amassed "unprecedented power onscreen and off", and "seemed to exemplify the common man, an ethnic twentieth-century American male who reached the 'top of the heap', yet never forgot his roots". Santopietro argues that Sinatra created his own world, which he was able to dominate—his career was centred around power, perfecting the ability to capture an audience. Encyclopædia Britannica referred to Sinatra as "often hailed as the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music....Through his life and his art, he transcended the status of mere icon to become one of the most recognizable symbols of American culture."
Gus Levene commented that Sinatra's strength was that when it came to lyrics, telling a story musically, Sinatra displayed a "genius" ability and feeling, which with the "rare combination of voice and showmanship" made him the "original singer" which others who followed most tried to emulate. George Roberts, a trombonist in Sinatra's band, remarked that Sinatra had a "charisma, or whatever it is about him, that no one else had". Biographer Arnold Shaw considered that "If Las Vegas had not existed, Sinatra could have invented it". He quoted reporter James Bacon in saying that Sinatra was the "swinging image on which the town is built", adding that no other entertainer quite "embodied the glamour" associated with Las Vegas as him. Sinatra continues to be seen as one of the icons of the 20th century,
and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music. There are stars on east and west sides of the 1600 block of Vine Street respectively, and one on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.
In Sinatra's native Hoboken, he was awarded the Key to the City of by Mayor Fred M. De Sapio on October 30, 1947. In 2003 the city's main post office was rededicated in his honor. A bronze plaque, place two years before Sinatra’s death in 1998, marks the site of the house where he was born. There is also a marker in front of Hoboken Historical Museum, which has artifacts from his life and conducts Sinatra walking tours through the city. Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. On the waterfront is Frank Sinatra Park, where a bronze plaque was placed in 1989 upon its opening. A tall bronze statue of Sinatra dedicated in 2021 on December 12, the date of Sinatra's birthday in 1915.
A residence hall at Montclair State University in New Jersey was named in his honor.Other buildings named for Sinatra include the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem dedicated in 1978, and the Frank Sinatra Hall at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, dedicated in 2002. Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Sinatra which opened in 2008. Items of memorabilia from Sinatra's life and career are displayed at USC's Frank Sinatra Hall and Wynn Resort's Sinatra restaurant. Near the Las Vegas Strip is a road named Frank Sinatra Drive in his honor. The United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra in May 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death. The United States Congress passed a resolution introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.
Sinatra received three Honorary Degrees during his lifetime. In May 1976, he was invited to speak at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) graduation commencement held at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was at this commencement that he was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate litterarum humanarum by the university. During his speech, Sinatra stated that his education had come from "the school of hard knocks" and was suitably touched by the award. He went on to describe that "this is the first educational degree I have ever held in my hand. I will never forget what you have done for me today". A few years later in 1984 and 1985, Sinatra also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Film and television portrayals
Sinatra has been portrayed on numerous occasions in film and television. A television miniseries based on Sinatra's life, titled Sinatra, was aired by CBS in 1992. The series was directed by James Steven Sadwith, who won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone, and produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina.
Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack, 1998), James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, 2003), Dennis Hopper (The Night We Called It a Day, 2003), and Robert Knepper (My Way, 2012), and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. A biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese has long been planned. A 1998 episode of the BBC documentary series Arena, The Voice of the Century, focused on Sinatra. Alex Gibney directed a four-part biographical series on Sinatra, All or Nothing at All, for HBO in 2015. A musical tribute was aired on CBS television in December 2015 to mark Sinatra's centenary. Sinatra was also portrayed by Rico Simonini in the 2018 feature film Frank & Ava, which is based on a play by Willard Manus.
Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".
In December 2020, it was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will portray Frank Sinatra in Reagan, a biopic of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Discography
The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)
Songs by Sinatra (1947)
Christmas Songs by Sinatra (1948)
Frankly Sentimental (1949)
Dedicated to You (1950)
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (1950)
Songs for Young Lovers (1954)
Swing Easy! (1954)
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956)
Close to You (1957)
A Swingin' Affair! (1957)
Where Are You? (1957)
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)
Come Fly with Me (1958)
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
Come Dance with Me! (1959)
No One Cares (1959)
Nice 'n' Easy (1960)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (1961)
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Come Swing with Me! (1961)
Swing Along With Me (1961)
I Remember Tommy (1961)
Sinatra and Strings (1962)
Point of No Return (1962)
Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (1962)
All Alone (1962)
Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (1962)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First with Count Basie (1962)
The Concert Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra's Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
Softly, as I Leave You (1964)
September of My Years (1965)
My Kind of Broadway (1965)
A Man and His Music (1965)
Moonlight Sinatra (1966)
Strangers in the Night (1966)
That's Life (1966)
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
The World We Knew (1967)
Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington (1968)
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas with Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra (1968)
Cycles (1968)
My Way (1969)
A Man Alone (1969)
Watertown (1970)
Sinatra & Company with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1971)
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973)
Some Nice Things I've Missed (1974)
Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
She Shot Me Down (1981)
L.A. Is My Lady (1984)
Duets (1993)
Duets II (1994)
See also
Frank Sinatra bibliography
Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy
The Frank Sinatra Show (radio program)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Freedland, Michael (1998). All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra. St. Martin's Press.
Kaplan, James (2015). Sinatra: The chairman. New York: Doubleday.
Pickard, Roy (1994). Frank Sinatra at the Movies. Hale.
External links
Sinatra family website
Frank Sinatra webradio
Sinatra at the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Frank Sinatra at FBI Records: The Vault
The Sinatra Report, a special section of Billboard's November 20, 1965, issue – beginning immediately after page 34
"Sinatra in Retrospective, Parts 1 and 2," WXXI Public Broadcasting, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Frank Sinatra at Find a Grave
Frank Sinatra
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[
"The Joker Is Wild is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Charles Vidor, starring Frank Sinatra, Mitzi Gaynor, Jeanne Crain, and Eddie Albert, and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is about Joe E. Lewis, the popular singer and comedian who was a major attraction in nightclubs from the 1920s to the early 1950s.\n\nPlot\nIn 1929 Joe E. Lewis is a successful night-club singer in Chicago while working for the Mob during the Prohibition era. His decision to work elsewhere displeases his mob employer who has his thugs assault him by slashing his face and throat, preventing him from continuing his career as a singer.\n\nAfter many years he eventually recovers and turns his acerbic and witty sense of humor into an act when given a break as a stand-up comedian from singer Sophie Tucker. Soon, Lewis makes a career for himself as a comic, but heavy drinking and a self-destructive behavior leads him to question what his life has become and how he has hurt the people around him including his wife Martha and his best friend Austin.\n\nCast\n Frank Sinatra as Joe E. Lewis\n Mitzi Gaynor as Martha Stewart\n Jeanne Crain as Letty Page\n Eddie Albert as Austin Mack\n Beverly Garland as Cassie Mack\n Jackie Coogan as Swifty Morgan\n Barry Kelley as Captain Hugh McCarthy\n Ted de Corsia as Georgie Parker\n Leonard Graves as Tim Coogan\n Valerie Allen as Flora, Chorine\n Hank Henry as Burlesque Comedian\n Sophie Tucker as herself\n\nProduction\nSinatra read Art Cohn's book The Joker Is Wild: The Story of Joe E. Lewis during the mid-'50s, was immediately taken by the story, and bought the rights to the book after Lewis himself turned down a reported $150,000 from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for the film rights to his story. Variety reported in November 1955 that Paramount Pictures would finance what was, for all intents and purposes, an independent feature film which was headed by Lewis and Sinatra along with director Charles Vidor and author Art Cohn. Each of the four partners were paid a reported $400,000, along with 75% of the film's net profits. The New York Times would report that Sinatra's share was in the region of $125,000 along with 25% of the film's profits.\n\nThe filming of the movie was mostly done later in the day, Sinatra preferring to work at that time and the filming schedule being tailored around this. Sinatra also insisted that all the musical scenes in the film and songs therein be recorded live on set to keep the performances more genuine. Frank Sinatra: \"When I do a concert and someone coughs, I like that,\" Sinatra remarked. \"I like the scraping of chairs. You get the feeling that it's really happening. I've always thought Lewis was one of only about four or five great artists in this century - one of them was Jolson - and I remember him screaming like the devil when he made a soundtrack.\" (from All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra)\n\nCritical reception\nThe Joker Is Wild opened to mostly favorable reviews.\n\nLos Angeles Times reviewer Phillip K. Scheuer: \"[Sinatra] catches the bitter inner restlessness almost too well...When Lewis, highball in hand, is reciting them [the drunk monologues] his natural clown's grin takes the curse off their cynicism; from Sinatra the gags come out bitter and barbed.\"\n\nFilms and Filming reviewer Gordon Gow: \"One consolation in the glossy gloom of this downbeat drama is that Frank Sinatra has sufficient talent and taste to break through the wall of embarrassment that is bound to arise between an audience and the film case-history of an unanonymous alcoholic.\"\n\nVariety commented on the \"major job Sinatra does... alternately sympathetic and pathetic, funny and sad.\"\n\nThis movie won the 1957 Academy Award for Best Original Song, for \"All the Way\" by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. When the film was re-released some years later, the title was changed for a period to All the Way due to the immense popularity of the film's theme song, which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard.\n\nSinatra actually became friends with the real Lewis, who commented that \"You (Sinatra) had more fun playing my life than I had living it.\"\n\nSee also\n List of American films of 1957\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \nThe Joker Is Wild review in Variety\n\n1957 films\n1950s biographical drama films\n1950s musical drama films\nAmerican films\nAmerican biographical drama films\nAmerican black-and-white films\nAmerican musical drama films\nEnglish-language films\nFilms about alcoholism\nFilms directed by Charles Vidor\nFilms scored by Walter Scharf\nFilms set in Chicago\nFilms set in the 1920s\nFilms set in the 1930s\nFilms set in the 1940s\nFilms that won the Best Original Song Academy Award\nParamount Pictures films\nFilms based on biographies\nFilms based on works by American writers\n1957 drama films\nBiographical films about entertainers",
"Frank Sinatra was a strong supporter and activist for Jewish causes in the United States and Israel. According to Santopietro, Sinatra was a \"lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes\". Sinatra participated in Hollywood protests and productions supporting Jews during the Holocaust and the formation of the State of Israel. He actively fund-raised for Israel Bonds, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and helped establish two intercultural centers in Israel which bear his name. Due to his support of Israel, his recordings and films were banned by the Arab League and by Lebanon.\n\nPersonal relationships with Jews\nSinatra became friendly with Jewish individuals in his youth. His Jewish neighbor, Mrs. Golden, often babysat him while his mother was out working. She spoke to him in Yiddish and served him coffee cake and apples. For many years Sinatra wore a mezuzah charm that Golden had given him. In 1944 Sinatra insisted on a Jewish friend, Manie Sacks, serving as godfather at his son's baptism over the vociferous protests of the priest.\n\nAccording to Swan, Sinatra despised racial prejudice and was quick to put a stop to it. Sinatra said: \"When I was a kid and someone called me a 'dirty little Guinea', there was only one thing to do – break his head...Let anyone yell wop or Jew or nigger around us, we taught him not to do it again\". Once he heard a reporter call someone a \"Jew bastard\" at a party and punched out the speaker. When Sinatra heard that some golf clubs restricted Jews from membership, he became the second non-Jew to join a club with a majority Jewish membership.\n\nHolocaust era\nSinatra's support of religious freedom found expression in support for Jews being persecuted during the Holocaust. In 1942, when the first reports of Nazi brutality against Jews reached the United States, Sinatra ordered hundreds of medallions struck with an image of Saint Christopher on one side and the Star of David on the other, and had them delivered to U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe as well as friends, business associates, and policemen who had provided security at his concerts.\n\nIn 1943 he joined the national tour of We Will Never Die, a four-month, six-city dramatic pageant staged by Ben Hecht to focus public attention on the Holocaust. In 1945 Sinatra starred in The House I Live In, a ten-minute short film about antisemitism and religious tolerance that won an Honorary Academy Award and was added to the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress in 2007.\n\nSupport of Israel\n\nLike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra supported the establishment of the State of Israel. In September 1947, when the United Nations was weighing ratification of its Partition Plan for Palestine which would create a Jewish state, Sinatra performed at an Action for Palestine rally at the Hollywood Bowl that drew 20,000 supporters.\n\nSinatra was personally involved in a clandestine operation in New York City in March 1948 on behalf of the Haganah, Israel's pre-state paramilitary organization. The Haganah had established a base in New York to smuggle arms to Palestine over a U.S. embargo. The Haganah was headquartered in the Hotel 14, located on the same premises as the Copacabana nightclub, and was under continual surveillance by Federal agents. Haganah representative Teddy Kollek saw Sinatra at the Copacabana bar and enlisted his help for an undercover operation. According to Kollek:\n\n\"I had an Irish ship captain sitting in the port of New York with a ship full of munitions destined for Israel. He had phony bills of lading and was to take the shipment outside the three-mile limit and transfer it on to another ship. But a large sum of money had to be handed over, and I didn't know how to get it to him. If I walked out the door carrying the cash, the Feds would intercept me and wind up confiscating the munitions.\n\"I went downstairs to the bar and Sinatra came over, and we were talking. I don't know what came over me, but I told him what I was doing in the United States and what my dilemma was. And in the early hours of the following morning I walked out the front door of the building with a satchel, and the Feds followed me. Out the back door went Frank Sinatra, carrying a paper bag filled with cash [estimated at $1 million]. He went down to the pier, handed it over, and watched the ship sail\".\n\nSinatra told his daughter Nancy, \"It was the beginning of a young nation. I wanted to help, I was afraid they might fall down\". According to Lehman, Sinatra \"believed Zionism was a righteous cause\".\n\nVisits to Israel\n\nIn 1962 Sinatra visited Israel for the first time as part of his multinational World Tour for Children. The tour, which raised over $1 million for children's charities around the globe, had stops in Japan, Hong Kong, England, France, Italy, Greece, and Israel. In Israel, Sinatra gave seven concerts in six cities. His visit coincided with the country's annual Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) celebrations. Sinatra sang at the official Independence Day event in Tel Aviv and was seated beside Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and General Moshe Dayan on the reviewing stand during the Israel Defense Forces parade. He also performed for troops at the Tel Nof Airbase and delivered a speech in Jerusalem \"urging people all over the world to support Israel\". A 30-minute short film, Sinatra in Israel, was later released with highlights of the visit.\n\nIn 1975 Sinatra performed at the Jerusalem Convention Center; this concert was released as the album Sinatra: The Jerusalem Concert.\n\nAccording to George Jacobs, his valet, \"We often returned to Israel, which Mr. S decided was his favorite country\". In 1995 Sinatra marked his 80th birthday with various celebrations, including a trip to Israel on his private plane together with several close friends, including Lee Iacocca and Walter Matthau. An entourage of some 100 participants spent time with him in Eilat, after which they toured Jordan and Egypt.\n\nFrank Sinatra Centers\nDuring his 1962 concert tour, in Nazareth, Sinatra purchased a lot near Mary's Well for the establishment of an intercultural youth center for Arab and Israeli children, to be built by the Histadrut trade union. He donated the $50,000 profit from his Israeli concerts to the project. He returned to Israel in 1964 to attend the dedication of the Frank Sinatra Brotherhood and Friendship Center for Arab and Israeli Children. Returning to Israel in 1965 to film a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow, he gave his entire $50,000 salary from the film to the center. In 1967 he made another $100,000 contribution to the Center.\n\nIn 1976 a Hollywood banquet honoring Sinatra, hosted by the American Friends of Hebrew University, raised $1 million toward the construction of a student center on the university's Mount Scopus campus. In 1978, the university named the Frank Sinatra International Student Center in his honor. On July 31, 2002, the center's cafeteria was the site of a terrorist bombing by Hamas. Nine were killed and nearly 100 injured.\n\nFund-raising\n\nSinatra raised significant funds for Jewish causes. In the wake of the Six-Day War in June 1967, he and other Hollywood entertainers pledged a total of $2.5 million to Israel at a cocktail party hosted by Jack L. Warner; Sinatra personally contributed $25,000. In 1972 Sinatra raised $6.5 million in bond pledges for Israel, and in 1975 announced he was personally giving $250,000 to Israel Bonds \"in memory of my parents' neighbor, Mrs. Golden, in Hoboken\". He raised significant money for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well, including a 1976 Hollywood fundraiser that netted $1 million for a new student center, a $10,000 per couple reception in Chicago in 1977, and a $5,000 per couple trip to Israel in 1978.\n\nSinatra met Simon Wiesenthal for the first time in 1979, telling the Nazi hunter that \"he had been his hero for many years\". When he found out that the Simon Wiesenthal Center was trying to produce the documentary Genocide, Sinatra told them, \"Although I'm not Jewish, the Holocaust is important to me\", and offered $100,000 to the project. He also became a member of the Center's Board of Trustees. In ensuing months, Sinatra made four appearances on behalf of the Center, bringing in $400,000 in funding for the film, which won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.\n\nAwards from Jewish groups\n Hollzer Memorial Award from the Los Angeles Jewish community (1949)\n Medallion of Valor from Israel Bonds (1972)\n National Scopus Award from the American Friends of Hebrew University (1976)\n Israel Cultural Award (1977)\n\nArab blacklists\n\nCiting the singer's support of Israel, the Arab League's Israeli Boycott Bureau in Cairo issued a ban on Sinatra's recordings and films in October 1962. In a statement, the Arab League said it had conclusively determined that Sinatra \"participates in the distribution of Israel bonds and that he exerts efforts for the collection of funds to be sent to Israel\". With the signing of the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, this ban was voided.\n\nIn 1964 Sinatra was officially barred from entering Lebanon due to his \"moral and material support of Israel\". In 2014 NBC News reported that a collection of Sinatra CDs were on display in the March Lebanon office in Beirut, with the note that they were banned for \"Zionist tendencies\". Sinatra's banned recordings are also posted on the group's website, the Virtual Museum of Censorship.\n\nDespite the ban, Sinatra albums and films still circulate in Lebanon. In 1964, at the same time the country announced it was barring Sinatra, one of his films was showing in Beirut. In 1966 Billboard reported that the ban was having its effect on Middle East sales of Sinatra's international number-one single, \"Strangers in the Night\", but the disc was still being delivered to Lebanon from other countries. The Virtual Museum of Censorship website acknowledges that despite the ban, Sinatra recordings are available in Lebanon.\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nSources\n\nExternal links\n \"Frank Sinatra in Israel\" (1962 footage)\n\nJewish activism\nSinatra\nSinatra"
] |
[
"Frank Sinatra",
"Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941-1952)",
"When did Sinatra debut?",
"Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing \"I'll Never Smile Again\" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers.",
"When did he hit his slump",
"The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline \"Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52\".",
"What musical films was Sinatra in?",
"In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days.",
"Did he win any awards or honors for his movies?",
"and the song \"I Fall in Love Too Easily\", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.",
"What other films was Sinatra in?",
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians."
] |
C_e101f90c705f425d906b30efdbf86cdb_1
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Was he in any other films?
| 6 |
Besides Take Me Out to the Ball Game, was Frank Sinatra in any other films?
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Frank Sinatra
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Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic towards his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers. In 1943 he had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures. In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1946, Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River. In 1949, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52". CANNOTANSWER
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The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures.
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Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally viewed as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide.
Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his film career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia.
While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". He led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He later married Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. After Sinatra's death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Early life
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—damage that remained for life. Due to his injuries at birth, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from cystic acne that further scarred his face and neck. Sinatra was raised in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven, and biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality traits and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, also ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.
Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien. He later worked for 24 years at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the player piano for spare change. During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as the "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows.
Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz, at a young age. He listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly, and idolized Bing Crosby. Sinatra's maternal uncle, Domenico, gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances. He left without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness". To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found Sinatra work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Garrick worked, and after that, Sinatra was a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He performed in local Hoboken social clubs such as The Cat's Meow and The Comedy Club, and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, who was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.
Music career
Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey (1935–1939)
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing at All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone but Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin", and "Every Day of My Life".
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with the group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, opening the show with "Stardust". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey". Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.
In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded over forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with "Say It" and "Imagination", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance was "I'll Never Smile Again", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include "Our Love Affair" and "Stardust" in 1940; "Oh! Look at Me Now", "Dolores", "Everything Happens to Me", and "This Love of Mine" in 1941; "Just as Though You Were There", "Take Me", and "There Are Such Things" in 1942; and "It Started All Over Again", "In the Blue of Evening", and "It's Always You" in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "Night and Day", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Song is You", and "Lamplighter's Serenade" at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited, you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".
After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby, but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying as Sinatra left, "I hope you fall on your ass", but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes. Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti, coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, holding a gun to his head. Upon leaving Dorsey, Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Up until his death in November 1956, Dorsey occasionally made biting comments about Sinatra to the press such as "he's the most fascinating man in the world, but don't put your hand in the cage".
Onset of Sinatramania and role in World War II (1942–1945)
By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans, and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944 only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and accost his person in the form of stealing clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow-tie.
Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943 during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All", which reached number 2 on June 2, and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he also made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba, and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released "You'll Never Know", "Close to You", "Sunday, Monday, or Always" and "People Will Say We're in Love" as singles. By the end of 1943 he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Bob Eberly, and Dick Haymes.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of a perforated eardrum. However, U.S. Army files reported that Sinatra was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint", but his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers. During one trip to Rome he met the Pope, who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944 Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Crosby's "White Christmas", and the following year he released "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", "Dream", and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" as singles.
Columbia years and career slump (1946–1952)
Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946 he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $93,000 a week.
In 1946 Sinatra released "Oh! What it Seemed to Be", "Day by Day", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Five Minutes More", and "The Coffee Song" as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness", and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning". He was soon selling 10million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase at the time, which consisted of teenage girls. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra, featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean?" and Harold Arlen's and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are". "Mam'selle", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund, Dick Haymes, Dennis Day, and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December he recorded "Sweet Lorraine" with the Metronome All-Stars, featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers, with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of the highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch".
Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, was originally released in 1948 as a 78rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church. By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeats annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby). and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat, who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life".
Though "The Hucklebuck" reached the top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including "Lover", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "It All Depends on You", on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!.
Cementing the low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans from a heart attack in January 1950 at 48. According to Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words", as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the bobbysoxers. Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke out in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and the destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he had met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to suffering a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which "absolutely destroyed him".
In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self absorption". Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks", but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers". Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's single-engine plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter, who had previously worked at the Copa in New York. Sinatra typically performed there three times a year, and later acquired a share in the hotel.
Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident at his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas he performed to half-filled houses of wildcatters and ranchers. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people in a 1,200-seat capacity venue turned up to see him. By April 1952 he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was also disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" the singer's records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as "If I Could Write a Book" in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now", was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith. Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson."
Career revival and the Capitol years (1953–1962)
The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase". On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You", Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity, Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle, an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, "I've Got the World on a String", Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!"
In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on the arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers, was released on January 4, 1954, and included "A Foggy Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "My Funny Valentine", "Violets for Your Furs" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No. 2 and was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single "Three Coins in the Fountain", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy!, which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included "Just One of Those Things", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Get Happy", and "All of Me". Swing Easy! was named Album of the Year by Billboard, and he was also named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard, DownBeat, and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world", and Riddle, who considered Sinatra "a perfectionist", offered equal praise of the singer, observing, "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempi, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable... there is still no one who can approach him."
In 1955 Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours, his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Mood Indigo", "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "When Your Lover Has Gone". According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood". Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year. Another collaboration with Riddle resulted in the development of Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, sometimes seen as one of his best albums, which was released in March 1956. It features a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, something which Sinatra paid meticulous care to, taking a reported 22 takes to perfect.
His February 1956 recording sessions inaugurated the studios at the Capitol Records Building, complete with a 56-piece symphonic orchestra. According to Granata his recordings of "Night and Day", "Oh! Look at Me Now" and "From This Moment On" revealed "powerful sexual overtones, stunningly achieved through the mounting tension and release of Sinatra's best-teasing vocal lines", while his recording of "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" in April demonstrated his "brilliance as a syncopational improviser". Riddle said that Sinatra took "particular delight" in singing "The Lady is a Tramp", commenting that he "always sang that song with a certain amount of salaciousness", making "cue tricks" with the lyrics. His penchant for conducting was displayed again in 1956's Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color, an instrumental album that has been interpreted to be a catharsis to his failed relationship with Gardner. Also that year, Sinatra sang at the Democratic National Convention, and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterwards at the Paramount Theatre.
In 1957, Sinatra released Close to You, A Swingin' Affair! and Where Are You?—his first album in stereo, with Gordon Jenkins. Granata considers "Close to You" to have been thematically his closest concept album to perfection during the "golden" era, and Nelson Riddle's finest work, which was "extremely progressive" by the standards of the day. It is structured like a three-act play, each commencing with the songs "With Every Breath I Take", "Blame It on My Youth" and "It Could Happen to You". For Granata, Sinatra's A Swingin' Affair! and swing music predecessor Songs for Swingin' Lovers! solidified "Sinatra's image as a 'swinger', from both a musical and visual standpoint". Buddy Collette considered the swing albums to have been heavily influenced by Sammy Davis Jr., and stated that when he worked with Sinatra in the mid-1960s he approached a song much differently than he had done in the early 1950s. On June 9, 1957, he performed in a 62-minute concert conducted by Riddle at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, his first appearance in Seattle since 1945. The recording was first released as a bootleg, but in 1999 Artanis Entertainment Group officially released it as the Sinatra '57 in Concert live album, after Sinatra's death. In 1958 Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour. It reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in its second week, remaining at the top for five weeks, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards. The title song, "Come Fly With Me", written especially for him, would become one of his best known standards. On May 29 he recorded seven songs in a single session, more than double the usual yield of a recording session, and an eighth was planned, "Lush Life", but Sinatra found it too technically demanding. In September, Sinatra released Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads which proved a huge commercial success, spending 120 weeks on Billboards album chart and peaking at No.1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of the "saloon song" segments of Sinatra's concerts.
In 1959, Sinatra released Come Dance with Me!, a highly successful, critically acclaimed album which stayed on Billboard's Pop album chart for 140 weeks, peaking at No. 2. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Arrangement for Billy May. He also released No One Cares in the same year, a collection of "brooding, lonely" torch songs, which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought was "nearly as good as its predecessor Where Are You?, but lacked the "lush" arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of Only the Lonely.
In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but had "assumed the position of il padrone in Hollywood". He was asked by 20th Century Fox to be the master of ceremonies at a luncheon attended by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on September 19, 1959. Nice 'n' Easy, a collection of ballads, topped the Billboard chart in October 1960 and remained in the charts for 86 weeks, winning critical plaudits. Granata noted the "lifelike ambient sound" quality of Nice and Easy, the perfection in the stereo balance, and the "bold, bright and snappy" sound of the band. He highlighted the "close, warm and sharp" feel of Sinatra's voice, particularly on the songs "September in the Rain", "I Concentrate on You", and "My Blue Heaven".
Reprise years (1961–1981)
Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol, and fell into a feud with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months. His first attempt at owning his own label was with his pursuit of buying declining jazz label, Verve Records, which ended once an initial agreement with Verve founder, Norman Granz, "failed to materialize." He decided to form his own label, Reprise Records and, in an effort to assert his new direction, temporarily parted with Riddle, May and Jenkins, working with other arrangers such as Neil Hefti, Don Costa, and Quincy Jones. Sinatra built the appeal of Reprise Records as one in which artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on Billboard. The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's The Warm Moods, Sammy Davis Jr.'s The Wham of Sam, Mavis River's Mavis and Joe E. Lewis's It is Now Post Time. During the initial years of Reprise, Sinatra was still under contract to record for Capitol, completing his contractual commitment with the release of Point of No Return, recorded over a two-day period on September 11 and 12, 1961.
In 1962, Sinatra released Sinatra and Strings, a set of standard ballads arranged by Don Costa, which became one of the most critically acclaimed works of Sinatra's entire Reprise period. Frank Jr., who was present during the recording, noted the "huge orchestra", which Nancy Sinatra stated "opened a whole new era" in pop music, with orchestras getting bigger, embracing a "lush string sound". Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones. The two became frequent performers together, and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.
In 1963, Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle. The concert was recorded on a motion picture scoring soundstage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed an optical signal onto 35mm film designed for movie soundtracks. Granata considers the album to have been "impeachable" [sic], "one of the very best of the Sinatra-Riddle ballad albums", in which Sinatra displayed an impressive vocal range, particularly in "Ol' Man River", in which he darkened the hue.
In 1964 the song "My Kind of Town" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra released Softly, as I Leave You, and collaborated with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring on America, I Hear You Singing, a collection of patriotic songs recorded as a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period. In 1961 and 1962 he went to Mexico, with the sole purpose of putting on performances for Mexican charities, and in July 1964 he was present for the dedication of the Frank Sinatra International Youth Center for Arab and Jewish children in Nazareth.
Sinatra's phenomenal success in 1965, coinciding with his 50th birthday, prompted Billboard to proclaim that he may have reached the "peak of his eminence". In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin played live in St. Louis to benefit Dismas House, a prisoner rehabilitation and training center with nationwide programs that in particular helped serve African Americans. The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. The album September of My Years was released September 1965, and went on to win the Grammy Award for best album of the year. Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist". One of the album's singles, "It Was a Very Good Year", won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male. A career anthology, A Man and His Music, followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys the following year.
In 1966 Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboards pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting. Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year, when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes, after a fight.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. He recorded one of his collaborations with Jobim, the Grammy-nominated album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, which was one of the best-selling albums of the year, behind the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to Santopietro the album "consists of an extraordinarily effective blend of bossa nova and slightly swinging jazz vocals, and succeeds in creating an unbroken mood of romance and regret". Writer Stan Cornyn wrote that Sinatra sang so softly on the album that it was comparable to the time that he suffered from a vocal hemorrhage in 1950.
Sinatra also released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K.. According to Granata, the recording of "Indian Summer" on the album was a favorite of Riddle's, noting the "contemplative mood [which] is heightened by a Johnny Hodges alto sax solo that will bring a tear to your eye". With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", using the melody of the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968. "My Way", Sinatra's best-known song on the Reprise label, was not an instant success, charting at No. 27 in the US and No. 5 in the UK, but it remained in the UK charts for 122 weeks, including 75 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 40, between April 1969 and September 1971, which was still a record in 2015. Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song, because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute", professing that he "hated boastfulness in others".
In an effort to maintain his commercial viability in the late 1960s, Sinatra would record works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), the Beatles ("Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides, Now") in 1969.
"Retirement" and return (1970–1981)
In 1970, Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio (of the Four Seasons) and lyrics by Jake Holmes. However, it sold a mere 30,000 copies that year and reached a peak chart position of 101. He left Caesars Palace in September that year after an incident where executive Sanford Waterman pulled a gun on him. He performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On November 2, 1970, Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund. He gave a "rousing" performance of "That's Life", and finished the concert with a Matt Dennis and Earl Brent song, "Angel Eyes" which he had recorded on the Only The Lonely album in 1958. He sang the last line."'Scuse me while I disappear." The spotlight went dark and he left the stage. He told LIFE journalist Thomas Thompson that "I've got things to do, like the first thing is not to do at all for eight months... maybe a year", while Barbara Sinatra later said that Sinatra had grown "tired of entertaining people, especially when all they really wanted were the same old tunes he had long ago become bored by". While he was in retirement, President Richard Nixon asked him to perform at a Young Voters Rally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20, 1972.
In 1973, Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album. The album, entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly. He initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing. That Christmas he performed at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and returned to Caesars Palace the following month in January 1974, despite previously vowing to perform there again [sic]. He began what Barbara Sinatra describes as a "massive comeback tour of the United States, Europe, the Far East and Australia". In July, while on a second tour of Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there– who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference– as "bums, parasites, fags, and buck-and-a-half hookers". After he was pressured to apologize, Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". Union actions cancelled concerts and grounded Sinatra's plane, essentially trapping him in Australia. In the end, Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, arranged for Sinatra to issue a written conciliatory note and a final concert that was televised to the nation. In October 1974 he appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month.
In 1975, Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days. In August he held several consecutive concerts at Lake Tahoe together with the newly-risen singer John Denver, who became a frequent collaborator. Sinatra had recorded Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "My Sweet Lady" for Sinatra & Company (1971), and according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request for his new grandchild, Angela. During the Labor Day weekend held in 1976, Sinatra was responsible for reuniting old friends and comedy partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis for the first time in nearly twenty years, when they performed at the "Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon". That year, the Friars Club selected him as the "Top Box Office Name of the Century", and he was given the Scopus Award by the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada.
Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s, and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him. He cancelled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados. In March, he performed in front of Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall in London, raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On March 14, he recorded with Nelson Riddle for the last time, recording the songs "Linda", "Sweet Loraine", and "Barbara". The two men had a major falling out, and later patched up their differences in January 1985 at a dinner organized for Ronald Reagan, when Sinatra asked Riddle to make another album with him. Riddle was ill at the time, and died that October, before they had a chance to record.
In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles. During a party at Caesars in 1979, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. That year, former President Gerald Ford awarded Sinatra the International Man of the Year Award, and he performed in front of the Egyptian pyramids for Anwar Sadat, which raised more than $500,000 for Sadat's wife's charities.
In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that features an array of songs from both the pre-rock era and rock era. It was the first studio album of Sinatra's to feature his touring pianist at the time, Vinnie Falcone, and was based on an idea by Sonny Burke. The album garnered six Grammy nominations– winning for best liner notes– and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, and spawned yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York". That year, as part of the Concert of the Americas, he performed in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which broke records for the "largest live paid audience ever recorded for a solo performer". The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that was praised for embodying the dark tone of his Capitol years. Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. President Lucas Mangope awarded Sinatra with the highest honor, the Order of the Leopard, and made him an honorary tribal chief.
Later career (1982–1998)
Santopietro stated that by the early 1980s, Sinatra's voice had "coarsened, losing much of its power and flexibility, but audiences didn't care". In 1982, he signed a $16million three-year deal with the Golden Nugget of Las Vegas. Kelley notes that by this period Sinatra's voice had grown "darker, tougher and loamier", but he "continued to captivate audiences with his immutable magic". She added that his baritone voice "sometimes cracked, but the gliding intonations still aroused the same raptures of delight as they had at the Paramount Theater". That year he made a reported further $1.3million from the Showtime television rights to his "Concert of the Americas" in the Dominican Republic, $1.6million for a concert series at Carnegie Hall, and $250,000 in just one evening at the Chicago Fest. He donated a lot of his earnings to charity. He put on a performance at the White House for the Italian prime minister, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.
Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James, President Reagan said in honoring his old friend that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow". On September 21, 1983, Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published. The book became a best-seller for "all the wrong reasons" and "the most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time", according to William Safire of The New York Times. Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life. According to Kelley, the family detested her and the book, which took its toll on Sinatra's health. Kelley says that Tina Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986. He was forced to drop the case on September 19, 1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about his views on censorship.
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. In 1986, Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail. Two years later, Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas. When Martin dropped out of the tour early on, a rift developed between them and the two never spoke again.
On June 6, 1988, Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album which was not released. He recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me A River", and other songs. Sinatra never completed the project, but take number 18 of "My Foolish Heart" may be heard in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995).
In 1990, Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony. Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991 and 84 in 1992 in seventeen different countries.
In 1993, Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album. The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.
During his tours in the early 1990s, his memory failed him at times during concerts, and he fainted onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March 1994. His final public concerts were held in Fukuoka Dome in Japan on December 19–20, 1994. The following year, Sinatra sang for the last time on February 25, 1995, before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss– the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, featuring performers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Natalie Cole and Salt-N-Pepa singing his songs. At the end of the program Sinatra performed on stage for the last time to sing the final notes of the "Theme from New York, New York" with an ensemble. In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Artistry
While Sinatra never learned how to read music well, he had a fine, natural understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. He could follow a lead sheet (simplified sheet music showing a song's basic structure) during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences. Granata states that some of the most accomplished classically trained musicians soon noticed his musical understanding, and remarked that Sinatra had a "sixth sense", which "demonstrated unusual proficiency when it came to detecting incorrect notes and sounds within the orchestra". Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters. His personal favorite was Ralph Vaughan Williams. He would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.
By the mid 1940s, such was his understanding of music that after hearing an air check of some compositions by Alec Wilder which were for strings and woodwinds, he became the conductor at Columbia Records for six of Wilder's compositions: "Air for Oboe", "Air for English Horn", "Air for Flute", "Air for Bassoon", "Slow Dance" and "Theme and Variations". The works, which combine elements of jazz and classical music, were considered by Wilder to have been among the finest renditions and recordings of his compositions, past or present. At one recording session with arranger Claus Ogerman and an orchestra, Sinatra heard "a couple of little strangers" in the string section, prompting Ogerman to make corrections to what were thought to be copyist's errors. Critic Gene Lees, a lyricist and the author of the words to the Jobim melody "This Happy Madness", expressed amazement when he heard Sinatra's recording of it on Sinatra & Company (1971), considering him to have delivered the lyrics to perfection.
Voice coach John Quinlan was impressed by Sinatra's vocal range, remarking, "He has far more voice than people think he has. He can vocalize to a B-flat on top in full voice, and he doesn't need a mic either". As a singer, early on he was primarily influenced by Bing Crosby, but later believed that Tony Bennett was "the best singer in the business". Bennett also praised Sinatra himself, claiming that as a performer, he had "perfected the art of intimacy." According to Nelson Riddle, Sinatra had a "fairly rangy voice", remarking that "His voice has a very strident, insistent sound in the top register, a smooth lyrical sound in the middle register, and a very tender sound in the low. His voice is built on infinite taste, with an overall inflection of sex. He points everything he does from a sexual standpoint". Despite his heavy New Jersey accent, according to Richard Schuller, when Sinatra sang his accent was barely detectable, with his diction becoming "precise" and articulation "meticulous". His timing was impeccable, allowing him, according to Charles L. Granata, to "toy with the rhythm of a melody, bringing tremendous excitement to his reading of a lyric". Tommy Dorsey observed that Sinatra would "take a musical phrase and play it all the way through seemingly without breathing for eight, ten, maybe sixteen bars". Dorsey was a considerable influence on Sinatra's techniques for his vocal phrasing with his own exceptional breath control on the trombone, and Sinatra regularly swam and held his breath underwater, thinking of song lyrics to increase his breathing power.
Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with a sense of uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament. Granata comments that Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others. On days when he felt that his voice was not right, he would know after only a few notes and would postpone the recording session until the following day, yet still pay his musicians. After a period of performing, Sinatra tired of singing a certain set of songs and was always looking for talented new songwriters and composers to work with. Once he found ones that he liked, he actively sought to work with them as often as he could, and made friends with many of them. He once told Sammy Cahn, who wrote songs for Anchors Aweigh, "if you're not there Monday, I'm not there Monday". Over the years he recorded 87 of Cahn's songs, of which 24 were composed by Jule Styne, and 43 by Jimmy Van Heusen. The Cahn-Styne partnership lasted from 1942 until 1954, when Van Heusen succeeded him as Sinatra's main composer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings. He would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record, and would keep an arranger in mind for each song. If it was a mellow love song, he would ask for Gordon Jenkins. If it was a "rhythm" number, he would think of Billy May, or perhaps Neil Hefti or some other favored arranger. Jenkins considered Sinatra's musical sense to be unerring. His changes to Riddle's charts would frustrate Riddle, yet he would usually concede that Sinatra's ideas were superior. Barbara Sinatra notes that Sinatra would almost always credit the songwriter at the end of each number, and would often make comments to the audience, such as "Isn't that a pretty ballad" or "Don't you think that's the most marvelous love song", delivered with "childlike delight". She states that after each show, Sinatra would be "in a buoyant, electrically charged mood, a post-show high that would take him hours to come down from as he quietly relived every note of the performance he'd just given".
Sinatra's split with Gardner in the fall of 1953 had a profound impact on the types of songs he sang and on his voice. He began to console himself in songs with a "brooding melancholy", such as "I'm a Fool to Want You", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "My One and Only Love" and "There Will Never Be Another You", which Riddle believed was the direct influence of Ava Gardner. Lahr comments that the new Sinatra was "not the gentle boy balladeer of the forties. Fragility had gone from his voice, to be replaced by a virile adult's sense of happiness and hurt". Author Granata considered Sinatra a "master of the art of recording", noting that his work in the studio "set him apart from other gifted vocalists". During his career he made over 1000 recordings. Recording sessions would typically last three hours, though Sinatra would always prepare for them by spending at least an hour by the piano beforehand to vocalize, followed by a short rehearsal with the orchestra to ensure the balance of sound. During his Columbia years Sinatra used an RCA 44 microphone, which Granata describes as "the 'old-fashioned' microphone which is closely associated with Sinatra's crooner image of the 1940s", though when performing on talk shows later he used a bullet-shaped RCA 77. At Capitol he used a Neumann U47, an "ultra-sensitive" microphone which better captured the timbre and tone of his voice.
In the 1950s, Sinatra's career was facilitated by developments in technology. Up to sixteen songs could now be held by the twelve-inch L.P., and this allowed Sinatra to use song in a novelistic way, turning each track in a kind of chapter, which built and counterpointed moods to illuminate a larger theme". Santopietro writes that through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, "Every Sinatra LP was a masterpiece of one sort of another, whether uptempo, torch song, or swingin' affairs. Track after track, the brilliant concept albums redefined the nature of pop vocal art".
Film career
Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941–1952)
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic about his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights (1941), singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers. He had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly (1943), making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". Next, he was given leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively (both 1944) for RKO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".
Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town (also 1949), playing a sailor on leave in New York City. The film remains rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
Career comeback and prime (1953–1959)
Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953) deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role which would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film. During production, Montgomery Clift became a close friend, and Sinatra later professed that he "learned more about acting from him than anybody I ever knew before". After several years of critical and commercial decline, his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world. His performance also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".
Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart (1954), and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly (also 1954).
Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). After roles in Guys and Dolls, and The Tender Trap (both 1955), Sinatra was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a medical student in Stanley Kramer's directorial début, Not as a Stranger (also 1955). During production, Sinatra got drunk with Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford and trashed Kramer's dressing room. Kramer vowed to never hire Sinatra again at the time, and later regretted casting him as a Spanish guerrilla leader in The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture. The public rushed to the cinemas to see Sinatra and Crosby together on-screen, and it ended up earning over $13million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing pictures of its year. He starred opposite Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak in George Sidney's Pal Joey (1957), Sinatra, for which he won for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Santopietro considers the scene in which Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to Hayworth to have been the finest moment of his film career. He next portrayed comedian Joe E. Lewis in The Joker Is Wild (also 1957); the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By 1958, Sinatra was one of the ten biggest box office draws in the United States, appearing with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running and Kings Go Forth (both 1958) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. "High Hopes", sung by Sinatra in the Frank Capra comedy, A Hole in the Head (1959), won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became a chart hit, lasting on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks.
Later career (1960–1980)
Due to an obligation he owed to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Henry King's Carousel (1956), Sinatra starred opposite Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan in Can-Can (1960). He earned $200,000 and 25% of the profits for the performance. Around the same time, he starred in the Las Vegas-set Ocean's 11 (also 1960), the first film to feature the Rat Pack together and the start of a "new era of screen cool" for Santopietro. Sinatra personally financed the film, and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000 respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period. He had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career. Vincent Canby, writing for the magazine Variety, found the portrayal of Sinatra's character to be "a wide-awake pro creating a straight, quietly humorous character of some sensitivity." He appeared with the Rat Pack in the western Sergeants 3 (also 1962), following it with 4 for Texas (1963). For his performance in Come Blow Your Horn (also 1963) adapted from the Neil Simon play, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor– Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Sinatra directed None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a major success, However, in the mid 1960s, Brad Dexter wanted to "breathe new life" into Sinatra's film career by helping him display the same professional pride in his films as he did his recordings. On one occasion, he gave Sinatra Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) to read, with the idea of making a film, but Sinatra thought it had no potential and did not understand a word.
In the late 1960s, Sinatra became known for playing detectives, including Tony Rome in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also played a similar role in The Detective (1968).
Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics. The following year, Sinatra received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and had intended to play Detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), but had to turn the role down due to developing Dupuytren's contracture in his hand. Sinatra's last major film role was opposite Faye Dunaway in Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin (1980). Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.
Television and radio career
After beginning on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show with the Hoboken Four in 1935, and later WNEW and WAAT in Jersey City, Sinatra became the star of radio shows of his own on NBC and CBS from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s. In 1942, Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work. By the end of 1942, he was named the "Most Popular Male Vocalist on Radio" in a DownBeat poll. Early on he frequently worked with The Andrews Sisters on radio, and they would appear as guests on each other's shows, as well as on many USO shows broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). He appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS. Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28, 1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day. Starting in September 1949, the BBD&O advertising agency produced a radio series starring Sinatra for Lucky Strike called Light Up Time– some 176 15-minute shows which featured Frank and Dorothy Kirsten singing– which lasted through to May 1950.
In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. Santopietro writes that Sinatra "simply never appeared fully at ease on his own television series, his edgy, impatient personality conveying a pent up energy on the verge of exploding". In 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune, portraying Rocco Fortunato (a.k.a. Rocky Fortune), a "footloose and fancy free" temporary worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbles into crime-solving. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954.
In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows. ABC agreed to allow Sinatra's Hobart Productions to keep 60% of the residuals, and bought stock in Sinatra's film production unit, Kent Productions, guaranteeing him $7million. Though an initial critical success upon its debut on October 18, 1957, it soon attracted negative reviews from Variety and The New Republic, and The Chicago Sun-Times thought that Sinatra and frequent guest Dean Martin "performed like a pair of adult delinquents", "sharing the same cigarette and leering at girls". In return, Sinatra later made numerous appearances on The Dean Martin Show and Martin's TV specials.
Sinatra's fourth and final Timex TV special, Welcome Home Elvis, was broadcast in March 1960, earning massive viewing figures. During the show, he performed a duet with Presley, who sang Sinatra's 1957 hit "Witchcraft" with the host performing the 1956 Presley classic "Love Me Tender". Sinatra had previously been highly critical of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in the 1950s, describing it as a "deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac" which "fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." A CBS News special about the singer's 50th birthday, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, was broadcast on November 16, 1965, and garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
According his musical collaboration with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967, Sinatra appeared in the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, which was broadcast on CBS on November 13. When Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he released both an album and appeared in a TV special named Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song-and-dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly. In the late 1970s, John Denver appeared as a guest in the Sinatra and Friends ABC-TV Special, singing "September Song" as a duet.
Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street (1977), cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film". Ten years later, he made a guest appearance opposite Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., playing a retired policeman who teams up with Selleck to find his granddaughter's murderer. Shot in January 1987, the episode aired on CBS on February 25.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy (born 1940), Frank Jr. (1944–2016) and Tina (born 1948), with his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (née Barbato, 1917–2018), to whom he was married from 1939 to 1951.
Sinatra had met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey in the summer of 1934, while working as a lifeguard. He agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" which led to his arrest. Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, and Joi Lansing.
Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957. It was a turbulent marriage with many well-publicized fights and altercations. The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.
Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962. He married Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966, a short marriage that ended with divorce in Mexico in August 1968. They remained close friends for life, and in a 2013 interview Farrow said that Sinatra might be the father of her son Ronan Farrow (born 1987). In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Nancy Sinatra dismissed the claim as "nonsense".
Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death. The couple married on July 11, 1976, at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, California, the estate of media magnate Walter Annenberg.
Sinatra was close friends with Jilly Rizzo, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, golfer Ken Venturi, comedian Pat Henry and baseball manager Leo Durocher. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music and attended concerts when he could. He swam daily in the Pacific Ocean, finding it to be therapeutic and giving him much-needed solitude. He often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived, and liked painting, reading, and building model railways.
Though Sinatra was critical of the Church on numerous occasions and had a pantheistic, Einstein-like view of God in his earlier life, he was inducted into the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1976, and he turned to Roman Catholicism for healing after his mother died in a plane crash in 1977. He died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.
Style and personality
Sinatra was known for his immaculate sense of style. He spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important, and that he was giving his very best to the audience. He was also obsessed with cleanliness—while with the Tommy Dorsey band he developed the nickname "Lady Macbeth", because of frequent showering and switching his outfits. His deep blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes".
For Santopietro, Sinatra was the personification of America in the 1950s: "cocky, eye on the main chance, optimistic, and full of the sense of possibility". Barbara Sinatra wrote, "A big part of Frank's thrill was the sense of danger that he exuded, an underlying, ever-present tension only those closest to him knew could be defused with humor". Cary Grant, a friend of Sinatra, stated that Sinatra was the "most honest person he'd ever met", who spoke "a simple truth, without artifice which scared people", and was often moved to tears by his performances. Jo-Caroll Dennison commented that he possessed "great inner strength", and that his energy and drive were "enormous". A workaholic, he reportedly only slept four hours a night on average. Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of mild to severe depression, stating to an interviewer in the 1950s that "I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation". Barbara Sinatra stated that he would "snap at anyone for the slightest misdemeanor", while Van Heusen said that when Sinatra got drunk it was "best to disappear".
Sinatra's mood swings often developed into violence, directed at people he felt had crossed him, particularly journalists who gave him scathing reviews, publicists, and photographers. According to Rojek he was "capable of deeply offensive behavior that smacked of a persecution complex". He received negative press for fights with Lee Mortimer in 1947, photographer Eddie Schisser in Houston in 1950, Judy Garland's publicist Jim Byron on the Sunset Strip in 1954, and for a confrontation with Washington Post journalist Maxine Cheshire in 1973, in which he implied that she was a cheap prostitute.
His feud with then-Chicago Sun Times columnist Mike Royko began when Royko wrote a column questioning why Chicago police offered free protection to Sinatra when the singer had his own security. Sinatra fired off an angry letter in response calling Royko a "pimp", and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupée. Royko auctioned the letter, the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The winner of the auction was Vie Carlson, mother of Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick. After appearing on Antiques Roadshow, Carlson consigned the letter to Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, which auctioned it in 2010.
Sinatra was also known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback. Kelley notes that when Lee J. Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come. In another instance, after an argument with manager Bobby Burns, rather than apologize, Sinatra bought him a brand new Cadillac.
Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime. Willie Moretti was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra". He was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, and the two men were seen playing golf together. Kelley quotes Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel, and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed. Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster Joseph Fischetti had been good friends from 1938 onward, and acted like "Sicilian brothers". She also states that Sinatra and Hank Sanicola were financial partners with Mickey Cohen in the gossip magazine Hollywood Night Life.
The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics, and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime. Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie".
In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, a casino hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line on the north shores of Lake Tahoe. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater which attracted his show business friends Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, Victor Borge, Joe E. Lewis, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters, and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel. Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily stripped by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises. Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands. That year, his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped but was eventually released unharmed. Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from Ronald Reagan.
Politics and activism
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward leader, and after meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, he subsequently heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 presidential election. According to Jo Carroll Silvers, in his younger years Sinatra had "ardent liberal" sympathies, and was "so concerned about poor people that he was always quoting Henry Wallace". He was outspoken against racism, particularly toward blacks and Italians, from early on. In November 1945 Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal. His comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a Communist, which he said was not true. In the 1948 presidential election, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Of all the U.S. presidents he associated with during his career, he was closest to John F. Kennedy. Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together. In January 1961 Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C., held on the evening before President Kennedy was sworn into office. After taking office, Kennedy decided to cut ties with Sinatra due, in part, to the singer's ties with the Mafia. His brother Robert, who was serving as Attorney General and was known for urging FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to conduct even more crackdowns on the Mafia, was even more distrustful of Sinatra.
In 1962, Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy, whom he first met in the 1950s, officially ended when Kennedy officially decided to remove Sinatra, who never shook off rumors of affiliation with the Mafia, from his "gang." Sinatra was snubbed by the President during his visit to Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived, when he decided to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby, due to FBI concerns about Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Despite also having ties with the Mafia, Crosby was not willing to give as many public hints as Sinatra. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he later smashed up with a sledgehammer upon being rejected. Despite the snub, when he learned of Kennedy's assassination he reportedly sobbed in his bedroom for three days.
Sinatra worked with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, and remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s. Although still a registered Democrat, Sinatra endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California in 1970. He officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election.
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan and donated $4million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously. In 1985, Reagan presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, remarking, "His love of country, his generosity for those less fortunate... make him one of our most remarkable and distinguished Americans."
Santopietro notes that Sinatra was a "lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes". He was awarded the Hollzer Memorial Award by the Los Angeles Jewish Community in 1949. He gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962, and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) to the Youth Center in Jerusalem. On November 1, 1972, he raised $6.5million in bond pledges for Israel, and was given the Medallion of Valor for his efforts. The Frank Sinatra Student Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was dedicated in his name in 1978. He owned a Jewish skullcap, known as a kippah or yarmulkah, which was sold as part of his wife's estate many years after his death.
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights. He blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children. Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s. At the Sands in 1955, Sinatra went against policy by inviting Nat King Cole into the dining room, and in 1961, after an incident where an African-American couple entered the lobby of the hotel and were blocked by the security guard, Sinatra and Davis forced the hotel management to begin hiring black waiters and busboys. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. According to his son, Frank Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore. When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues. Though he did much towards civil rights causes, it did not stop the occasional racial jibe from him and the other Rat Pack members toward Davis at concerts.
Death
Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, with his wife by his side after suffering two heart attacks. Sinatra was in ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He also suffered from dementia-like symptoms due to his usage of antidepressants. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and reported that his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her siblings (Frank Jr. and Nancy) had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for one minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit and his grave was adorned with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Legacy and honors
Robert Christgau referred to Sinatra as "the greatest singer of the 20th century". His popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. For Santopietro, Sinatra was the "greatest male pop singer in the history of America", who amassed "unprecedented power onscreen and off", and "seemed to exemplify the common man, an ethnic twentieth-century American male who reached the 'top of the heap', yet never forgot his roots". Santopietro argues that Sinatra created his own world, which he was able to dominate—his career was centred around power, perfecting the ability to capture an audience. Encyclopædia Britannica referred to Sinatra as "often hailed as the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music....Through his life and his art, he transcended the status of mere icon to become one of the most recognizable symbols of American culture."
Gus Levene commented that Sinatra's strength was that when it came to lyrics, telling a story musically, Sinatra displayed a "genius" ability and feeling, which with the "rare combination of voice and showmanship" made him the "original singer" which others who followed most tried to emulate. George Roberts, a trombonist in Sinatra's band, remarked that Sinatra had a "charisma, or whatever it is about him, that no one else had". Biographer Arnold Shaw considered that "If Las Vegas had not existed, Sinatra could have invented it". He quoted reporter James Bacon in saying that Sinatra was the "swinging image on which the town is built", adding that no other entertainer quite "embodied the glamour" associated with Las Vegas as him. Sinatra continues to be seen as one of the icons of the 20th century,
and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music. There are stars on east and west sides of the 1600 block of Vine Street respectively, and one on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.
In Sinatra's native Hoboken, he was awarded the Key to the City of by Mayor Fred M. De Sapio on October 30, 1947. In 2003 the city's main post office was rededicated in his honor. A bronze plaque, place two years before Sinatra’s death in 1998, marks the site of the house where he was born. There is also a marker in front of Hoboken Historical Museum, which has artifacts from his life and conducts Sinatra walking tours through the city. Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. On the waterfront is Frank Sinatra Park, where a bronze plaque was placed in 1989 upon its opening. A tall bronze statue of Sinatra dedicated in 2021 on December 12, the date of Sinatra's birthday in 1915.
A residence hall at Montclair State University in New Jersey was named in his honor.Other buildings named for Sinatra include the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem dedicated in 1978, and the Frank Sinatra Hall at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, dedicated in 2002. Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Sinatra which opened in 2008. Items of memorabilia from Sinatra's life and career are displayed at USC's Frank Sinatra Hall and Wynn Resort's Sinatra restaurant. Near the Las Vegas Strip is a road named Frank Sinatra Drive in his honor. The United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra in May 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death. The United States Congress passed a resolution introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.
Sinatra received three Honorary Degrees during his lifetime. In May 1976, he was invited to speak at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) graduation commencement held at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was at this commencement that he was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate litterarum humanarum by the university. During his speech, Sinatra stated that his education had come from "the school of hard knocks" and was suitably touched by the award. He went on to describe that "this is the first educational degree I have ever held in my hand. I will never forget what you have done for me today". A few years later in 1984 and 1985, Sinatra also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Film and television portrayals
Sinatra has been portrayed on numerous occasions in film and television. A television miniseries based on Sinatra's life, titled Sinatra, was aired by CBS in 1992. The series was directed by James Steven Sadwith, who won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone, and produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina.
Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack, 1998), James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, 2003), Dennis Hopper (The Night We Called It a Day, 2003), and Robert Knepper (My Way, 2012), and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. A biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese has long been planned. A 1998 episode of the BBC documentary series Arena, The Voice of the Century, focused on Sinatra. Alex Gibney directed a four-part biographical series on Sinatra, All or Nothing at All, for HBO in 2015. A musical tribute was aired on CBS television in December 2015 to mark Sinatra's centenary. Sinatra was also portrayed by Rico Simonini in the 2018 feature film Frank & Ava, which is based on a play by Willard Manus.
Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".
In December 2020, it was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will portray Frank Sinatra in Reagan, a biopic of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Discography
The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)
Songs by Sinatra (1947)
Christmas Songs by Sinatra (1948)
Frankly Sentimental (1949)
Dedicated to You (1950)
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (1950)
Songs for Young Lovers (1954)
Swing Easy! (1954)
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956)
Close to You (1957)
A Swingin' Affair! (1957)
Where Are You? (1957)
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)
Come Fly with Me (1958)
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
Come Dance with Me! (1959)
No One Cares (1959)
Nice 'n' Easy (1960)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (1961)
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Come Swing with Me! (1961)
Swing Along With Me (1961)
I Remember Tommy (1961)
Sinatra and Strings (1962)
Point of No Return (1962)
Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (1962)
All Alone (1962)
Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (1962)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First with Count Basie (1962)
The Concert Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra's Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
Softly, as I Leave You (1964)
September of My Years (1965)
My Kind of Broadway (1965)
A Man and His Music (1965)
Moonlight Sinatra (1966)
Strangers in the Night (1966)
That's Life (1966)
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
The World We Knew (1967)
Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington (1968)
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas with Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra (1968)
Cycles (1968)
My Way (1969)
A Man Alone (1969)
Watertown (1970)
Sinatra & Company with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1971)
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973)
Some Nice Things I've Missed (1974)
Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
She Shot Me Down (1981)
L.A. Is My Lady (1984)
Duets (1993)
Duets II (1994)
See also
Frank Sinatra bibliography
Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy
The Frank Sinatra Show (radio program)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Freedland, Michael (1998). All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra. St. Martin's Press.
Kaplan, James (2015). Sinatra: The chairman. New York: Doubleday.
Pickard, Roy (1994). Frank Sinatra at the Movies. Hale.
External links
Sinatra family website
Frank Sinatra webradio
Sinatra at the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Frank Sinatra at FBI Records: The Vault
The Sinatra Report, a special section of Billboard's November 20, 1965, issue – beginning immediately after page 34
"Sinatra in Retrospective, Parts 1 and 2," WXXI Public Broadcasting, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Frank Sinatra at Find a Grave
Frank Sinatra
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[
"The Yaqui Girl is an American short film made in 1910. It was directed by James Young Deer, starring Virginia Chester. This was Virginia's first silent film. The duration of the film is 1,000 feet (300m), which is approximately one hour. The film premiered on December 31, 1910 in the United States. This was the first production of Pathé Frères West Coast company, a new American version of a famous French film company.\n\nCast\nVirginia Chester appeared as 'Silver Love'. Chester starred in several films after her debut in The Yaqui Girl at the age of 14. Restitution was Virginia's first feature length film. She died at the age of 30 from pulmonary tuberculosis.\nThe Frenzy of Firewater (1912)\nA Shot In the Dark (1912) \nFat Bill's Wooing (1912) \nWhen Uncle Sam Was Young (1912) \nTrapper Bill, King of Scouts (1912) \nA Four-Footed Hero (1912) \nHash House Mashers (1915) \nRestitution (1918)\nThe Demon (1918)\nThe Vanity Pool (1918) \nThe Outcasts of Poker Plat (1919)\n\nPlot\nSet in Mexico, a beautiful young Indian maiden falls in love with a Mexican cavalier, who she later finds out is a bandit. He has several girlfriends on the side, and he later suffers for his actions by a gruesome fate. His original lover has him shot so he can no longer be with any other woman. There is no knowledge of any other characters.\n\nProduction\nThe Yaqui Girl was filmed in the United States; mainly in New Jersey. There was also filming in Santiago Canyon, California. The cinematography process used in The Yaqui Girl was spherical. A 35mm Camera was used to shoot this film.\n\nCritical reception\nReviewers spoke on how the film did a poor job at depicting Indians and Mexicans. At the time, this was considered to be a racist remark.\n\nSee also\n List of American films of 1910\n\nReferences\n\n1910 films\nAmerican silent short films\nAmerican films\nAmerican black-and-white films",
"La vendetta di Lady Morgan () is a 1965 Italian horror film directed by Massimo Pupillo and written by Gianni Grimaldi.\n\nCast\nGordon Mitchell as Roger\nErika Blanc as Lillian\nBarbara Nelli as Lady Susan Morgan\nPaul Muller as Sir Harold Morgan \nMichel Forain as Pierre Brissac\nCarlo Kechler as Sir Neville Blackhouse\n\nRelease\nLa vendetta di Lady Morgan was distributed in Italy by I.N.D.I.E.F. when it was released on December 16, 1965. It grossed a total of 61 million Italian lire. Unlike Pupillo's other horror films, La vendetta di Lady Morgan only received a theatrical release domestically in West Germany in 1967.\n\nThe film was the last horror film Pupillo directed due to his lack of interest in making any more films in the genre; he turned down propositions to make other horror films. Pupillo spoke on the topic, explaining that \"I started in the horror genre because I wanted to get out of documentaries, I wanted to enter the commercial market. In Italy, when you do a certain type of film, you become labelled and you can't do anything else. I remember one day, a producer called me to do a film only because the other producers told him he had to get either Mario Bava or me. When I understood this, I felt dead.\"\n\nReception\nFrom retrospective reviews, Roberto Curti, author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957-1969 stated that the film was \"by no means the best, but perhaps most peculiar\" of the three horror films Pupillo directed. Louis Paul noted in his book Italian Horror Film Directors, that the film was made in a \"more careful and studied manner that any of Pupillo's other films as a director\" and that the film was \"a successful attempt at emulating the better Gothic horror films of earlier years, but by 1966, audiences were tuned into and expecting more from the colorful and violence-soaked horror films other filmmakers were churning out.\"\n\nSee also\nList of horror films of 1965\nList of Italian films of 1965\n\nReferences\n\nFootnotes\n\nSources\n\nExternal links\n \n\n1965 films\n1965 horror films\nFilms scored by Piero Umiliani\nItalian films\nItalian horror films\n1960s Italian-language films\nGothic horror films"
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[
"Frank Sinatra",
"Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941-1952)",
"When did Sinatra debut?",
"Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing \"I'll Never Smile Again\" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers.",
"When did he hit his slump",
"The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline \"Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52\".",
"What musical films was Sinatra in?",
"In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days.",
"Did he win any awards or honors for his movies?",
"and the song \"I Fall in Love Too Easily\", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.",
"What other films was Sinatra in?",
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians.",
"Was he in any other films?",
"The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures."
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When did his slump begin?
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When did Frank Sinatra's slump begin?
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Frank Sinatra
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Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic towards his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut in 1941, performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights, singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's The Pied Pipers. In 1943 he had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly, making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". The following year he was given his leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively for RKO Pictures. In 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh, in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In 1946, Sinatra briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By, a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River. In 1949, Sinatra co-starred with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game, a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town, playing a sailor on leave in New York City. Today the film is rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52". CANNOTANSWER
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Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression.
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Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor who is generally viewed as one of the greatest musical artists of the 20th century. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide.
Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra was greatly influenced by the intimate, easy-listening vocal style of Bing Crosby and began his musical career in the swing era with bandleaders Harry James and Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". Sinatra released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. However, by the early 1950s, his film career had stalled and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known residency performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of the film From Here to Eternity, his performance subsequently earning him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra then released several critically lauded albums, some of which are retrospectively noted as being among the first "concept albums", including In the Wee Small Hours (1955), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956), Come Fly with Me (1958), Only the Lonely (1958), No One Cares (1959), and Nice 'n' Easy (1960).
Sinatra left Capitol in 1960 to start his own record label, Reprise Records, and released a string of successful albums. In 1965, he recorded the retrospective album September of My Years and starred in the Emmy-winning television special Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music. After releasing Sinatra at the Sands, recorded at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Vegas with frequent collaborator Count Basie in early 1966, the following year he recorded one of his most famous collaborations with Tom Jobim, the album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. It was followed by 1968's Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington. Sinatra retired for the first time in 1971, but came out of retirement two years later. He recorded several albums and resumed performing at Caesars Palace, and released "New York, New York" in 1980. Using his Las Vegas shows as a home base, he toured both within the United States and internationally until shortly before his death in 1998.
Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), and in The Manchurian Candidate (1962). He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town (1949), Guys and Dolls (1955), High Society (1956), and Pal Joey (1957), winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he frequently played detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome (1967). Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. He was investigated by the FBI for his alleged relationship with the Mafia.
While Sinatra never learned how to read music, he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. A perfectionist, renowned for his dress sense and performing presence, he always insisted on recording live with his band. His bright blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes". He led a colorful personal life, and was often involved in turbulent affairs with women, such as with his second wife Ava Gardner. He later married Mia Farrow in 1966 and Barbara Marx in 1976. Sinatra had several violent confrontations, usually with journalists he felt had crossed him, or work bosses with whom he had disagreements. He was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1983, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan in 1985, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. Sinatra was also the recipient of eleven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Trustees Award, Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. After Sinatra's death, American music critic Robert Christgau called him "the greatest singer of the 20th century", and he continues to be seen as an iconic figure.
Early life
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915, in an upstairs tenement at 415 Monroe Street in Hoboken, New Jersey, the only child of Italian immigrants Natalina "Dolly" Garaventa and Antonino Martino "Marty" Sinatra. Sinatra weighed at birth and had to be delivered with the aid of forceps, which caused severe scarring to his left cheek, neck, and ear, and perforated his eardrum—damage that remained for life. Due to his injuries at birth, his baptism at St. Francis Church in Hoboken was delayed until April 2, 1916. A childhood operation on his mastoid bone left major scarring on his neck, and during adolescence he suffered from cystic acne that further scarred his face and neck. Sinatra was raised in the Roman Catholic Church.
Sinatra's mother was energetic and driven, and biographers believe that she was the dominant factor in the development of her son's personality traits and self-confidence. Sinatra's fourth wife Barbara would later claim that Dolly was abusive to him when he was a child, and "knocked him around a lot". Dolly became influential in Hoboken and in local Democratic Party circles. She worked as a midwife, earning $50 for each delivery, and according to Sinatra biographer Kitty Kelley, also ran an illegal abortion service that catered to Italian Catholic girls, for which she was nicknamed "Hatpin Dolly". She also had a gift for languages and served as a local interpreter.
Sinatra's illiterate father was a bantamweight boxer who fought under the name Marty O'Brien. He later worked for 24 years at the Hoboken Fire Department, working his way up to captain. Sinatra spent much time at his parents' tavern in Hoboken, working on his homework and occasionally singing a song on top of the player piano for spare change. During the Great Depression, Dolly provided money to her son for outings with friends and to buy expensive clothes, resulting in neighbors describing him as the "best-dressed kid in the neighborhood". Excessively thin and small as a child and young man, Sinatra's skinny frame later became a staple of jokes during stage shows.
Sinatra developed an interest in music, particularly big band jazz, at a young age. He listened to Gene Austin, Rudy Vallée, Russ Colombo, and Bob Eberly, and idolized Bing Crosby. Sinatra's maternal uncle, Domenico, gave him a ukulele for his 15th birthday, and he began performing at family gatherings. Sinatra attended David E. Rue Jr. High School from 1928, and A. J. Demarest High School (since renamed as Hoboken High School) in 1931, where he arranged bands for school dances. He left without graduating, having attended only 47 days before being expelled for "general rowdiness". To please his mother, he enrolled at Drake Business School, but departed after 11 months. Dolly found Sinatra work as a delivery boy at the Jersey Observer newspaper, where his godfather Frank Garrick worked, and after that, Sinatra was a riveter at the Tietjen and Lang shipyard. He performed in local Hoboken social clubs such as The Cat's Meow and The Comedy Club, and sang for free on radio stations such as WAAT in Jersey City. In New York, Sinatra found jobs singing for his supper or for cigarettes. To improve his speech, he began taking elocution lessons for a dollar each from vocal coach John Quinlan, who was one of the first people to notice his impressive vocal range.
Music career
Hoboken Four, Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey (1935–1939)
Sinatra began singing professionally as a teenager, but he learned music by ear and never learned to read music. He got his first break in 1935 when his mother persuaded a local singing group, the 3 Flashes, to let him join. Fred Tamburro, the group's baritone, stated that "Frank hung around us like we were gods or something", admitting that they only took him on board because he owned a car and could chauffeur the group around. Sinatra soon learned they were auditioning for the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show, and "begged" the group to let him in on the act. With Sinatra, the group became known as the Hoboken Four, and passed an audition from Edward Bowes to appear on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour show. They each earned $12.50 for the appearance, and ended up attracting 40,000 votes and won first prize—a six-month contract to perform on stage and radio across the United States. Sinatra quickly became the group's lead singer, and, much to the jealousy of his fellow group members, garnered most of the attention from girls. Due to the success of the group, Bowes kept asking for them to return, disguised under different names, varying from "The Secaucus Cockamamies" to "The Bayonne Bacalas".
In 1938, Sinatra found employment as a singing waiter at a roadhouse called "The Rustic Cabin" in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, for which he was paid $15 a week. The roadhouse was connected to the WNEW radio station in New York City, and he began performing with a group live during the Dance Parade show. Despite the low salary, Sinatra felt that this was the break he was looking for, and boasted to friends that he was going to "become so big that no one could ever touch him". In March 1939, saxophone player Frank Mane, who knew Sinatra from Jersey City radio station WAAT where both performed on live broadcasts, arranged for him to audition and record "Our Love", his first solo studio recording. In June, bandleader Harry James, who had heard Sinatra sing on "Dance Parade", signed a two-year contract of $75 a week one evening after a show at the Paramount Theatre in New York. It was with the James band that Sinatra released his first commercial record "From the Bottom of My Heart" in July. No more than 8,000 copies of the record were sold, and further records released with James through 1939, such as "All or Nothing at All", also had weak sales on their initial release. Thanks to his vocal training, Sinatra could now sing two tones higher, and developed a repertoire which included songs such as "My Buddy", "Willow Weep for Me", "It's Funny to Everyone but Me", "Here Comes the Night", "On a Little Street in Singapore", "Ciribiribin", and "Every Day of My Life".
Sinatra became increasingly frustrated with the status of the Harry James band, feeling that he was not achieving the major success and acclaim he was looking for. His pianist and close friend Hank Sanicola persuaded him to stay with the group, but in November 1939 he left James to replace Jack Leonard as the lead singer of the Tommy Dorsey band. Sinatra earned $125 a week, appearing at the Palmer House in Chicago, and James released Sinatra from his contract. On January 26, 1940, he made his first public appearance with the band at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford, Illinois, opening the show with "Stardust". Dorsey recalled: "You could almost feel the excitement coming up out of the crowds when the kid stood up to sing. Remember, he was no matinée idol. He was just a skinny kid with big ears. I used to stand there so amazed I'd almost forget to take my own solos". Dorsey was a major influence on Sinatra and became a father figure. Sinatra copied Dorsey's mannerisms and traits, becoming a demanding perfectionist like him, even adopting his hobby of toy trains. He asked Dorsey to be godfather to his daughter Nancy in June 1940. Sinatra later said that "The only two people I've ever been afraid of are my mother and Tommy Dorsey". Though Kelley says that Sinatra and drummer Buddy Rich were bitter rivals, other authors state that they were friends and even roommates when the band was on the road, but professional jealousy surfaced as both men wanted to be considered the star of Dorsey's band. Later, Sinatra helped Rich form his own band with a $25,000 loan and provided financial help to Rich during times of the drummer's serious illness.
In his first year with Dorsey, Sinatra recorded over forty songs. Sinatra's first vocal hit was the song "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" in late April 1940. Two more chart appearances followed with "Say It" and "Imagination", which was Sinatra's first top-10 hit. His fourth chart appearance was "I'll Never Smile Again", topping the charts for twelve weeks beginning in mid-July. Other records with Tommy Dorsey issued by RCA Victor include "Our Love Affair" and "Stardust" in 1940; "Oh! Look at Me Now", "Dolores", "Everything Happens to Me", and "This Love of Mine" in 1941; "Just as Though You Were There", "Take Me", and "There Are Such Things" in 1942; and "It Started All Over Again", "In the Blue of Evening", and "It's Always You" in 1943. As his success and popularity grew, Sinatra pushed Dorsey to allow him to record some solo songs. Dorsey eventually relented, and on January 19, 1942, Sinatra recorded "Night and Day", "The Night We Called It a Day", "The Song is You", and "Lamplighter's Serenade" at a Bluebird recording session, with Axel Stordahl as arranger and conductor. Sinatra first heard the recordings at the Hollywood Palladium and Hollywood Plaza and was astounded at how good he sounded. Stordahl recalled: "He just couldn't believe his ears. He was so excited, you almost believed he had never recorded before. I think this was a turning point in his career. I think he began to see what he might do on his own".
After the 1942 recordings, Sinatra believed he needed to go solo, with an insatiable desire to compete with Bing Crosby, but he was hampered by his contract which gave Dorsey 43% of Sinatra's lifetime earnings in the entertainment industry. A legal battle ensued, eventually settled in August 1942. On September 3, 1942, Dorsey bade farewell to Sinatra, reportedly saying as Sinatra left, "I hope you fall on your ass", but he was more gracious on the air when replacing Sinatra with singer Dick Haymes. Rumors began spreading in newspapers that Sinatra's mobster godfather, Willie Moretti, coerced Dorsey to let Sinatra out of his contract for a few thousand dollars, holding a gun to his head. Upon leaving Dorsey, Sinatra persuaded Stordahl to come with him and become his personal arranger, offering him $650 a month, five times his salary from Dorsey. Dorsey and Sinatra, who had been very close, never reconciled their differences. Up until his death in November 1956, Dorsey occasionally made biting comments about Sinatra to the press such as "he's the most fascinating man in the world, but don't put your hand in the cage".
Onset of Sinatramania and role in World War II (1942–1945)
By May 1941, Sinatra topped the male singer polls in Billboard and DownBeat magazines. His appeal to bobby soxers, as teenage girls of that time were called, revealed a whole new audience for popular music, which had been recorded mainly for adults up to that time. The phenomenon became officially known as "Sinatramania" after his "legendary opening" at the Paramount Theatre in New York on December 30, 1942. According to Nancy Sinatra, Jack Benny later said, "I thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion... All this for a fellow I never heard of." Sinatra performed for four weeks at the theatre, his act following the Benny Goodman orchestra, after which his contract was renewed for another four weeks by Bob Weitman due to his popularity. He became known as "Swoonatra" or "The Voice", and his fans "Sinatratics". They organized meetings and sent masses of letters of adoration, and within a few weeks of the show, some 1000 Sinatra fan clubs had been reported across the US. Sinatra's publicist, George Evans, encouraged interviews and photographs with fans, and was the man responsible for depicting Sinatra as a vulnerable, shy, Italian–American with a rough childhood who made good. When Sinatra returned to the Paramount in October 1944 only 250 persons left the first show, and 35,000 fans left outside caused a near riot, known as the Columbus Day Riot, outside the venue because they were not allowed in. Such was the bobby-soxer devotion to Sinatra that they were known to write Sinatra's song titles on their clothing, bribe hotel maids for an opportunity to touch his bed, and accost his person in the form of stealing clothing he was wearing, most commonly his bow-tie.
Sinatra signed with Columbia Records as a solo artist on June 1, 1943 during the 1942–44 musicians' strike. Columbia Records re-released Harry James and Sinatra's August 1939 version of "All or Nothing at All", which reached number 2 on June 2, and was on the best-selling list for 18 weeks. He initially had great success, and performed on the radio on Your Hit Parade from February 1943 until December 1944, and on stage. Columbia wanted new recordings of their growing star as quickly as possible, so Alec Wilder was hired as an arranger and conductor for several sessions with a vocal group called the Bobby Tucker Singers. These first sessions were on June 7, June 22, August 5, and November 10, 1943. Of the nine songs recorded during these sessions, seven charted on the best-selling list. That year he also made his first solo nightclub appearance at New York's Riobamba, and a successful concert in the Wedgewood Room of the prestigious Waldorf-Astoria New York that year secured his popularity in New York high society. Sinatra released "You'll Never Know", "Close to You", "Sunday, Monday, or Always" and "People Will Say We're in Love" as singles. By the end of 1943 he was more popular in a DownBeat poll than Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Bob Eberly, and Dick Haymes.
Sinatra did not serve in the military during World War II. On December 11, 1943, he was officially classified 4-F ("Registrant not acceptable for military service") by his draft board because of a perforated eardrum. However, U.S. Army files reported that Sinatra was "not acceptable material from a psychiatric viewpoint", but his emotional instability was hidden to avoid "undue unpleasantness for both the selectee and the induction service". Briefly, there were rumors reported by columnist Walter Winchell that Sinatra paid $40,000 to avoid the service, but the FBI found this to be without merit.
Toward the end of the war, Sinatra entertained the troops during several successful overseas USO tours with comedian Phil Silvers. During one trip to Rome he met the Pope, who asked him if he was an operatic tenor. Sinatra worked frequently with the popular Andrews Sisters in radio in the 1940s, and many USO shows were broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). In 1944 Sinatra released "I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night" as a single and recorded his own version of Crosby's "White Christmas", and the following year he released "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)", "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)", "Dream", and "Nancy (with the Laughing Face)" as singles.
Columbia years and career slump (1946–1952)
Despite being heavily involved in political activity in 1945 and 1946, in those two years Sinatra sang on 160 radio shows, recorded 36 times, and shot four films. By 1946 he was performing on stage up to 45 times a week, singing up to 100 songs daily, and earning up to $93,000 a week.
In 1946 Sinatra released "Oh! What it Seemed to Be", "Day by Day", "They Say It's Wonderful", "Five Minutes More", and "The Coffee Song" as singles, and launched his first album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that Sinatra "took the material very seriously, singing the love lyrics with utter seriousness", and that his "singing and the classically influenced settings gave the songs unusual depth of meaning". He was soon selling 10million records a year. Such was Sinatra's command at Columbia that his love of conducting was indulged with the release of the set Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder, an offering unlikely to appeal to Sinatra's core fanbase at the time, which consisted of teenage girls. The following year he released his second album, Songs by Sinatra, featuring songs of a similar mood and tempo such as Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean?" and Harold Arlen's and Jerome Kern's "All The Things You Are". "Mam'selle", composed by Edmund Goulding with lyrics by Mack Gordon for the film The Razor's Edge (1946), was released as a single. Sinatra had competition; versions by Art Lund, Dick Haymes, Dennis Day, and The Pied Pipers also reached the top ten of the Billboard charts. In December he recorded "Sweet Lorraine" with the Metronome All-Stars, featuring talented jazz musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Harry Carney and Charlie Shavers, with Nat King Cole on piano, in what Charles L. Granata describes as "one of the highlights of Sinatra's Columbia epoch".
Sinatra's third album, Christmas Songs by Sinatra, was originally released in 1948 as a 78rpm album set, and a 10" LP record was released two years later. When Sinatra was featured as a priest in The Miracle of the Bells, due to press negativity surrounding his alleged Mafia connections at the time, it was announced to the public that Sinatra would donate his $100,000 in wages from the film to the Catholic Church. By the end of 1948, Sinatra had slipped to fourth on DownBeats annual poll of most popular singers (behind Billy Eckstine, Frankie Laine, and Bing Crosby). and in the following year he was pushed out of the top spots in polls for the first time since 1943. Frankly Sentimental (1949) was panned by DownBeat, who commented that "for all his talent, it seldom comes to life".
Though "The Hucklebuck" reached the top ten, it was his last single release under the Columbia label. Sinatra's last two albums with Columbia, Dedicated to You and Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra, were released in 1950. Sinatra would later feature a number of the Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra album's songs, including "Lover", "It's Only a Paper Moon", "It All Depends on You", on his 1961 Capitol release, Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!!.
Cementing the low of his career was the death of publicist George Evans from a heart attack in January 1950 at 48. According to Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's close friend and songwriter, Evans's death to him was "an enormous shock which defies words", as he had been crucial to his career and popularity with the bobbysoxers. Sinatra's reputation continued to decline as reports broke out in February of his affair with Ava Gardner and the destruction of his marriage to Nancy, though he insisted that his marriage had long been over even before he had met Gardner. In April, Sinatra was engaged to perform at the Copa club in New York, but had to cancel five days of the booking due to suffering a submucosal hemorrhage of the throat. Evans once said that whenever Sinatra suffered from a bad throat and loss of voice it was always due to emotional tension which "absolutely destroyed him".
In financial difficulty following his divorce and career decline, Sinatra was forced to borrow $200,000 from Columbia to pay his back taxes after MCA refused to front the money. Rejected by Hollywood, he turned to Las Vegas and made his debut at the Desert Inn in September 1951, and also began singing at the Riverside Hotel in Reno, Nevada. Sinatra became one of Las Vegas's pioneer residency entertainers, and a prominent figure on the Vegas scene throughout the 1950s and 1960s onwards, a period described by Rojek as the "high-water mark" of Sinatra's "hedonism and self absorption". Rojek notes that the Rat Pack "provided an outlet for gregarious banter and wisecracks", but argues that it was Sinatra's vehicle, possessing an "unassailable command over the other performers". Sinatra would fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in Van Heusen's single-engine plane. On October 4, 1953, Sinatra made his first performance at the Sands Hotel and Casino, after an invitation by the manager Jack Entratter, who had previously worked at the Copa in New York. Sinatra typically performed there three times a year, and later acquired a share in the hotel.
Sinatra's decline in popularity was evident at his concert appearances. At a brief run at the Paramount in New York he drew small audiences. At the Desert Inn in Las Vegas he performed to half-filled houses of wildcatters and ranchers. At a concert at Chez Paree in Chicago, only 150 people in a 1,200-seat capacity venue turned up to see him. By April 1952 he was performing at the Kauai County Fair in Hawaii. Sinatra's relationship with Columbia Records was also disintegrating, with A&R executive Mitch Miller claiming he "couldn't give away" the singer's records. Though several notable recordings were made during this time period, such as "If I Could Write a Book" in January 1952, which Granata sees as a "turning point", forecasting his later work with its sensitivity, Columbia and MCA dropped him later that year. His last studio recording for Columbia, "Why Try To Change Me Now", was recorded in New York on September 17, 1952, with orchestra arranged and conducted by Percy Faith. Journalist Burt Boyar observed, "Sinatra had had it. It was sad. From the top to the bottom in one horrible lesson."
Career revival and the Capitol years (1953–1962)
The release of the film From Here to Eternity in August 1953 marked the beginning of a remarkable career revival. Tom Santopietro notes that Sinatra began to bury himself in his work, with an "unparalleled frenetic schedule of recordings, movies and concerts", in what authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan describe as "a new and brilliant phase". On March 13, 1953, Sinatra met with Capitol Records vice president Alan Livingston and signed a seven-year recording contract. His first session for Capitol took place at KHJ studios at Studio C, 5515 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, with Axel Stordahl conducting. The session produced four recordings, including "I'm Walking Behind You", Sinatra's first Capitol single. After spending two weeks on location in Hawaii filming From Here to Eternity, Sinatra returned to KHJ on April 30 for his first recording session with Nelson Riddle, an established arranger and conductor at Capitol who was Nat King Cole's musical director. After recording the first song, "I've Got the World on a String", Sinatra offered Riddle a rare expression of praise, "Beautiful!", and after listening to the playbacks, he could not hide his enthusiasm, exclaiming, "I'm back, baby, I'm back!"
In subsequent sessions in May and November 1953, Sinatra and Riddle developed and refined their musical collaboration, with Sinatra providing specific guidance on the arrangements. Sinatra's first album for Capitol, Songs for Young Lovers, was released on January 4, 1954, and included "A Foggy Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "My Funny Valentine", "Violets for Your Furs" and "They Can't Take That Away from Me", songs which became staples of his later concerts. That same month, Sinatra released the single "Young at Heart", which reached No. 2 and was awarded Song of the Year. In March, he recorded and released the single "Three Coins in the Fountain", a "powerful ballad" that reached No. 4. Sinatra's second album with Riddle, Swing Easy!, which reflected his "love for the jazz idiom" according to Granata, was released on August 2 of that year and included "Just One of Those Things", "Taking a Chance on Love", "Get Happy", and "All of Me". Swing Easy! was named Album of the Year by Billboard, and he was also named "Favorite Male Vocalist" by Billboard, DownBeat, and Metronome that year. Sinatra came to consider Riddle "the greatest arranger in the world", and Riddle, who considered Sinatra "a perfectionist", offered equal praise of the singer, observing, "It's not only that his intuitions as to tempi, phrasing, and even configuration are amazingly right, but his taste is so impeccable... there is still no one who can approach him."
In 1955 Sinatra released In the Wee Small Hours, his first 12" LP, featuring songs such as "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Mood Indigo", "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "When Your Lover Has Gone". According to Granata it was the first concept album of his to make a "single persuasive statement", with an extended program and "melancholy mood". Sinatra embarked on his first tour of Australia the same year. Another collaboration with Riddle resulted in the development of Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, sometimes seen as one of his best albums, which was released in March 1956. It features a recording of "I've Got You Under My Skin" by Cole Porter, something which Sinatra paid meticulous care to, taking a reported 22 takes to perfect.
His February 1956 recording sessions inaugurated the studios at the Capitol Records Building, complete with a 56-piece symphonic orchestra. According to Granata his recordings of "Night and Day", "Oh! Look at Me Now" and "From This Moment On" revealed "powerful sexual overtones, stunningly achieved through the mounting tension and release of Sinatra's best-teasing vocal lines", while his recording of "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" in April demonstrated his "brilliance as a syncopational improviser". Riddle said that Sinatra took "particular delight" in singing "The Lady is a Tramp", commenting that he "always sang that song with a certain amount of salaciousness", making "cue tricks" with the lyrics. His penchant for conducting was displayed again in 1956's Frank Sinatra Conducts Tone Poems of Color, an instrumental album that has been interpreted to be a catharsis to his failed relationship with Gardner. Also that year, Sinatra sang at the Democratic National Convention, and performed with The Dorsey Brothers for a week soon afterwards at the Paramount Theatre.
In 1957, Sinatra released Close to You, A Swingin' Affair! and Where Are You?—his first album in stereo, with Gordon Jenkins. Granata considers "Close to You" to have been thematically his closest concept album to perfection during the "golden" era, and Nelson Riddle's finest work, which was "extremely progressive" by the standards of the day. It is structured like a three-act play, each commencing with the songs "With Every Breath I Take", "Blame It on My Youth" and "It Could Happen to You". For Granata, Sinatra's A Swingin' Affair! and swing music predecessor Songs for Swingin' Lovers! solidified "Sinatra's image as a 'swinger', from both a musical and visual standpoint". Buddy Collette considered the swing albums to have been heavily influenced by Sammy Davis Jr., and stated that when he worked with Sinatra in the mid-1960s he approached a song much differently than he had done in the early 1950s. On June 9, 1957, he performed in a 62-minute concert conducted by Riddle at the Seattle Civic Auditorium, his first appearance in Seattle since 1945. The recording was first released as a bootleg, but in 1999 Artanis Entertainment Group officially released it as the Sinatra '57 in Concert live album, after Sinatra's death. In 1958 Sinatra released the concept album Come Fly with Me with Billy May, designed as a musical world tour. It reached the top spot on the Billboard album chart in its second week, remaining at the top for five weeks, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the inaugural Grammy Awards. The title song, "Come Fly With Me", written especially for him, would become one of his best known standards. On May 29 he recorded seven songs in a single session, more than double the usual yield of a recording session, and an eighth was planned, "Lush Life", but Sinatra found it too technically demanding. In September, Sinatra released Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely, a stark collection of introspective saloon songs and blues-tinged ballads which proved a huge commercial success, spending 120 weeks on Billboards album chart and peaking at No.1. Cuts from this LP, such as "Angel Eyes" and "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", would remain staples of the "saloon song" segments of Sinatra's concerts.
In 1959, Sinatra released Come Dance with Me!, a highly successful, critically acclaimed album which stayed on Billboard's Pop album chart for 140 weeks, peaking at No. 2. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as Best Vocal Performance, Male and Best Arrangement for Billy May. He also released No One Cares in the same year, a collection of "brooding, lonely" torch songs, which critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought was "nearly as good as its predecessor Where Are You?, but lacked the "lush" arrangements of it and the "grandiose melancholy" of Only the Lonely.
In the words of Kelley, by 1959, Sinatra was "not simply the leader of the Rat Pack" but had "assumed the position of il padrone in Hollywood". He was asked by 20th Century Fox to be the master of ceremonies at a luncheon attended by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on September 19, 1959. Nice 'n' Easy, a collection of ballads, topped the Billboard chart in October 1960 and remained in the charts for 86 weeks, winning critical plaudits. Granata noted the "lifelike ambient sound" quality of Nice and Easy, the perfection in the stereo balance, and the "bold, bright and snappy" sound of the band. He highlighted the "close, warm and sharp" feel of Sinatra's voice, particularly on the songs "September in the Rain", "I Concentrate on You", and "My Blue Heaven".
Reprise years (1961–1981)
Sinatra grew discontented at Capitol, and fell into a feud with Alan Livingston, which lasted over six months. His first attempt at owning his own label was with his pursuit of buying declining jazz label, Verve Records, which ended once an initial agreement with Verve founder, Norman Granz, "failed to materialize." He decided to form his own label, Reprise Records and, in an effort to assert his new direction, temporarily parted with Riddle, May and Jenkins, working with other arrangers such as Neil Hefti, Don Costa, and Quincy Jones. Sinatra built the appeal of Reprise Records as one in which artists were promised creative control over their music, as well as a guarantee that they would eventually gain "complete ownership of their work, including publishing rights." Under Sinatra the company developed into a music industry "powerhouse", and he later sold it for an estimated $80million. His first album on the label, Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961), was a major success, peaking at No.4 on Billboard. The album was released in February 1961, the same month that Reprise Records released Ben Webster's The Warm Moods, Sammy Davis Jr.'s The Wham of Sam, Mavis River's Mavis and Joe E. Lewis's It is Now Post Time. During the initial years of Reprise, Sinatra was still under contract to record for Capitol, completing his contractual commitment with the release of Point of No Return, recorded over a two-day period on September 11 and 12, 1961.
In 1962, Sinatra released Sinatra and Strings, a set of standard ballads arranged by Don Costa, which became one of the most critically acclaimed works of Sinatra's entire Reprise period. Frank Jr., who was present during the recording, noted the "huge orchestra", which Nancy Sinatra stated "opened a whole new era" in pop music, with orchestras getting bigger, embracing a "lush string sound". Sinatra and Count Basie collaborated for the album Sinatra-Basie the same year, a popular and successful release which prompted them to rejoin two years later for the follow-up It Might as Well Be Swing, arranged by Quincy Jones. The two became frequent performers together, and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965. Also in 1962, as the owner of his own record label, Sinatra was able to step on the podium as conductor again, releasing his third instrumental album Frank Sinatra Conducts Music from Pictures and Plays.
In 1963, Sinatra reunited with Nelson Riddle for The Concert Sinatra, an ambitious album featuring a 73-piece symphony orchestra arranged and conducted by Riddle. The concert was recorded on a motion picture scoring soundstage with the use of multiple synchronized recording machines that employed an optical signal onto 35mm film designed for movie soundtracks. Granata considers the album to have been "impeachable" [sic], "one of the very best of the Sinatra-Riddle ballad albums", in which Sinatra displayed an impressive vocal range, particularly in "Ol' Man River", in which he darkened the hue.
In 1964 the song "My Kind of Town" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Sinatra released Softly, as I Leave You, and collaborated with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring on America, I Hear You Singing, a collection of patriotic songs recorded as a tribute to the assassinated President John F. Kennedy. Sinatra increasingly became involved in charitable pursuits in this period. In 1961 and 1962 he went to Mexico, with the sole purpose of putting on performances for Mexican charities, and in July 1964 he was present for the dedication of the Frank Sinatra International Youth Center for Arab and Jewish children in Nazareth.
Sinatra's phenomenal success in 1965, coinciding with his 50th birthday, prompted Billboard to proclaim that he may have reached the "peak of his eminence". In June 1965, Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin played live in St. Louis to benefit Dismas House, a prisoner rehabilitation and training center with nationwide programs that in particular helped serve African Americans. The Rat Pack concert, called The Frank Sinatra Spectacular, was broadcast live via satellite to numerous movie theaters across America. The album September of My Years was released September 1965, and went on to win the Grammy Award for best album of the year. Granata considers the album to have been one of the finest of his Reprise years, "a reflective throwback to the concept records of the 1950s, and more than any of those collections, distills everything that Frank Sinatra had ever learned or experienced as a vocalist". One of the album's singles, "It Was a Very Good Year", won the Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male. A career anthology, A Man and His Music, followed in November, winning Album of the Year at the Grammys the following year.
In 1966 Sinatra released That's Life, with both the single of "That's Life" and album becoming Top Ten hits in the US on Billboards pop charts. Strangers in the Night went on to top the Billboard and UK pop singles charts, winning the award for Record of the Year at the Grammys. Sinatra's first live album, Sinatra at the Sands, was recorded during January and February 1966 at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Sinatra was backed by the Count Basie Orchestra, with Quincy Jones conducting. Sinatra pulled out from the Sands the following year, when he was driven out by its new owner Howard Hughes, after a fight.
Sinatra started 1967 with a series of recording sessions with Antônio Carlos Jobim. He recorded one of his collaborations with Jobim, the Grammy-nominated album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, which was one of the best-selling albums of the year, behind the Beatles's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. According to Santopietro the album "consists of an extraordinarily effective blend of bossa nova and slightly swinging jazz vocals, and succeeds in creating an unbroken mood of romance and regret". Writer Stan Cornyn wrote that Sinatra sang so softly on the album that it was comparable to the time that he suffered from a vocal hemorrhage in 1950.
Sinatra also released the album The World We Knew, which features a chart-topping duet of "Somethin' Stupid" with daughter Nancy. In December, Sinatra collaborated with Duke Ellington on the album Francis A. & Edward K.. According to Granata, the recording of "Indian Summer" on the album was a favorite of Riddle's, noting the "contemplative mood [which] is heightened by a Johnny Hodges alto sax solo that will bring a tear to your eye". With Sinatra in mind, singer-songwriter Paul Anka wrote the song "My Way", using the melody of the French "Comme d'habitude" ("As Usual"), composed by Claude François and Jacques Revaux. Sinatra recorded it in one take, just after Christmas 1968. "My Way", Sinatra's best-known song on the Reprise label, was not an instant success, charting at No. 27 in the US and No. 5 in the UK, but it remained in the UK charts for 122 weeks, including 75 non-consecutive weeks in the Top 40, between April 1969 and September 1971, which was still a record in 2015. Sinatra told songwriter Ervin Drake in the 1970s that he "detested" singing the song, because he believed audiences would think it was a "self-aggrandizing tribute", professing that he "hated boastfulness in others".
In an effort to maintain his commercial viability in the late 1960s, Sinatra would record works by Paul Simon ("Mrs. Robinson"), the Beatles ("Yesterday"), and Joni Mitchell ("Both Sides, Now") in 1969.
"Retirement" and return (1970–1981)
In 1970, Sinatra released Watertown, a critically acclaimed concept album, with music by Bob Gaudio (of the Four Seasons) and lyrics by Jake Holmes. However, it sold a mere 30,000 copies that year and reached a peak chart position of 101. He left Caesars Palace in September that year after an incident where executive Sanford Waterman pulled a gun on him. He performed several charity concerts with Count Basie at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On November 2, 1970, Sinatra recorded the last songs for Reprise Records before his self-imposed retirement, announced the following June at a concert in Hollywood to raise money for the Motion Picture and TV Relief Fund. He gave a "rousing" performance of "That's Life", and finished the concert with a Matt Dennis and Earl Brent song, "Angel Eyes" which he had recorded on the Only The Lonely album in 1958. He sang the last line."'Scuse me while I disappear." The spotlight went dark and he left the stage. He told LIFE journalist Thomas Thompson that "I've got things to do, like the first thing is not to do at all for eight months... maybe a year", while Barbara Sinatra later said that Sinatra had grown "tired of entertaining people, especially when all they really wanted were the same old tunes he had long ago become bored by". While he was in retirement, President Richard Nixon asked him to perform at a Young Voters Rally in anticipation of the upcoming campaign. Sinatra obliged and chose to sing "My Kind of Town" for the rally held in Chicago on October 20, 1972.
In 1973, Sinatra came out of his short-lived retirement with a television special and album. The album, entitled Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back, arranged by Gordon Jenkins and Don Costa, was a success, reaching number 13 on Billboard and number 12 in the UK. The television special, Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra, reunited Sinatra with Gene Kelly. He initially developed problems with his vocal cords during the comeback due to a prolonged period without singing. That Christmas he performed at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas, and returned to Caesars Palace the following month in January 1974, despite previously vowing to perform there again [sic]. He began what Barbara Sinatra describes as a "massive comeback tour of the United States, Europe, the Far East and Australia". In July, while on a second tour of Australia, he caused an uproar by describing journalists there– who were aggressively pursuing his every move and pushing for a press conference– as "bums, parasites, fags, and buck-and-a-half hookers". After he was pressured to apologize, Sinatra instead insisted that the journalists apologize for "fifteen years of abuse I have taken from the world press". Union actions cancelled concerts and grounded Sinatra's plane, essentially trapping him in Australia. In the end, Sinatra's lawyer, Mickey Rudin, arranged for Sinatra to issue a written conciliatory note and a final concert that was televised to the nation. In October 1974 he appeared at New York City's Madison Square Garden in a televised concert that was later released as an album under the title The Main Event – Live. Backing him was bandleader Woody Herman and the Young Thundering Herd, who accompanied Sinatra on a European tour later that month.
In 1975, Sinatra performed in concerts in New York with Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the London Palladium with Basie and Sarah Vaughan, and in Tehran at Aryamehr Stadium, giving 140 performances in 105 days. In August he held several consecutive concerts at Lake Tahoe together with the newly-risen singer John Denver, who became a frequent collaborator. Sinatra had recorded Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "My Sweet Lady" for Sinatra & Company (1971), and according to Denver, his song "A Baby Just Like You" was written at Sinatra's request for his new grandchild, Angela. During the Labor Day weekend held in 1976, Sinatra was responsible for reuniting old friends and comedy partners Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis for the first time in nearly twenty years, when they performed at the "Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon". That year, the Friars Club selected him as the "Top Box Office Name of the Century", and he was given the Scopus Award by the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada.
Sinatra continued to perform at Caesars Palace in the late 1970s, and was performing there in January 1977 when his mother Dolly died in a plane crash on the way to see him. He cancelled two weeks of shows and spent time recovering from the shock in Barbados. In March, he performed in front of Princess Margaret at the Royal Albert Hall in London, raising money for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. On March 14, he recorded with Nelson Riddle for the last time, recording the songs "Linda", "Sweet Loraine", and "Barbara". The two men had a major falling out, and later patched up their differences in January 1985 at a dinner organized for Ronald Reagan, when Sinatra asked Riddle to make another album with him. Riddle was ill at the time, and died that October, before they had a chance to record.
In 1978, Sinatra filed a $1million lawsuit against a land developer for using his name in the "Frank Sinatra Drive Center" in West Los Angeles. During a party at Caesars in 1979, he was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, while celebrating 40 years in show business and his 64th birthday. That year, former President Gerald Ford awarded Sinatra the International Man of the Year Award, and he performed in front of the Egyptian pyramids for Anwar Sadat, which raised more than $500,000 for Sadat's wife's charities.
In 1980, Sinatra's first album in six years was released, Trilogy: Past Present Future, a highly ambitious triple album that features an array of songs from both the pre-rock era and rock era. It was the first studio album of Sinatra's to feature his touring pianist at the time, Vinnie Falcone, and was based on an idea by Sonny Burke. The album garnered six Grammy nominations– winning for best liner notes– and peaked at number 17 on Billboard's album chart, and spawned yet another song that would become a signature tune, "Theme from New York, New York". That year, as part of the Concert of the Americas, he performed in the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which broke records for the "largest live paid audience ever recorded for a solo performer". The following year, Sinatra built on the success of Trilogy with She Shot Me Down, an album that was praised for embodying the dark tone of his Capitol years. Also in 1981, Sinatra was embroiled in controversy when he worked a ten-day engagement for $2million in Sun City, in the internationally unrecognized Bophuthatswana, breaking a cultural boycott against apartheid-era South Africa. President Lucas Mangope awarded Sinatra with the highest honor, the Order of the Leopard, and made him an honorary tribal chief.
Later career (1982–1998)
Santopietro stated that by the early 1980s, Sinatra's voice had "coarsened, losing much of its power and flexibility, but audiences didn't care". In 1982, he signed a $16million three-year deal with the Golden Nugget of Las Vegas. Kelley notes that by this period Sinatra's voice had grown "darker, tougher and loamier", but he "continued to captivate audiences with his immutable magic". She added that his baritone voice "sometimes cracked, but the gliding intonations still aroused the same raptures of delight as they had at the Paramount Theater". That year he made a reported further $1.3million from the Showtime television rights to his "Concert of the Americas" in the Dominican Republic, $1.6million for a concert series at Carnegie Hall, and $250,000 in just one evening at the Chicago Fest. He donated a lot of his earnings to charity. He put on a performance at the White House for the Italian prime minister, and performed at the Radio City Music Hall with Luciano Pavarotti and George Shearing.
Sinatra was selected as one of the five recipients of the 1983 Kennedy Center Honors, alongside Katherine Dunham, James Stewart, Elia Kazan, and Virgil Thomson. Quoting Henry James, President Reagan said in honoring his old friend that "art was the shadow of humanity" and that Sinatra had "spent his life casting a magnificent and powerful shadow". On September 21, 1983, Sinatra filed a $2million court case against Kitty Kelley, suing her for punitive damages, before her unofficial biography, His Way, was even published. The book became a best-seller for "all the wrong reasons" and "the most eye-opening celebrity biography of our time", according to William Safire of The New York Times. Sinatra was always adamant that such a book would be written on his terms, and he himself would "set the record straight" in details of his life. According to Kelley, the family detested her and the book, which took its toll on Sinatra's health. Kelley says that Tina Sinatra blamed her for her father's colon surgery in 1986. He was forced to drop the case on September 19, 1984, with several leading newspapers expressing concerns about his views on censorship.
In 1984, Sinatra worked with Quincy Jones for the first time in nearly two decades on the album, L.A. Is My Lady, which was well received critically. The album was a substitute for another Jones project, an album of duets with Lena Horne, which had to be abandoned. In 1986, Sinatra collapsed on stage while performing in Atlantic City and was hospitalized for diverticulitis, which left him looking frail. Two years later, Sinatra reunited with Martin and Davis and went on the Rat Pack Reunion Tour, during which they played many large arenas. When Martin dropped out of the tour early on, a rift developed between them and the two never spoke again.
On June 6, 1988, Sinatra made his last recordings with Reprise for an album which was not released. He recorded "My Foolish Heart", "Cry Me A River", and other songs. Sinatra never completed the project, but take number 18 of "My Foolish Heart" may be heard in The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (1995).
In 1990, Sinatra was awarded the second "Ella Award" by the Los Angeles-based Society of Singers, and performed for a final time with Ella Fitzgerald at the award ceremony. Sinatra maintained an active touring schedule in the early 1990s, performing 65 concerts in 1990, 73 in 1991 and 84 in 1992 in seventeen different countries.
In 1993, Sinatra returned to Capitol Records and the recording studio for Duets, which became his best-selling album. The album and its sequel, Duets II, released the following year, would see Sinatra remake his classic recordings with popular contemporary performers, who added their vocals to a pre-recorded tape.
During his tours in the early 1990s, his memory failed him at times during concerts, and he fainted onstage in Richmond, Virginia, in March 1994. His final public concerts were held in Fukuoka Dome in Japan on December 19–20, 1994. The following year, Sinatra sang for the last time on February 25, 1995, before a live audience of 1200 select guests at the Palm Desert Marriott Ballroom, on the closing night of the Frank Sinatra Desert Classic golf tournament. Esquire reported of the show that Sinatra was "clear, tough, on the money" and "in absolute control". Sinatra was awarded the Legend Award at the 1994 Grammy Awards, where he was introduced by Bono, who said of him, "Frank's the chairman of the bad attitude... Rock 'n roll plays at being tough, but this guy is the boss– the chairman of boss... I'm not going to mess with him, are you?"
In 1995, to mark Sinatra's 80th birthday, the Empire State Building glowed blue. A star-studded birthday tribute, Sinatra: 80 Years My Way, was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, featuring performers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard, Natalie Cole and Salt-N-Pepa singing his songs. At the end of the program Sinatra performed on stage for the last time to sing the final notes of the "Theme from New York, New York" with an ensemble. In recognition of his many years of association with Las Vegas, Sinatra was elected to the Gaming Hall of Fame in 1997.
Artistry
While Sinatra never learned how to read music well, he had a fine, natural understanding of it, and he worked very hard from a young age to improve his abilities in all aspects of music. He could follow a lead sheet (simplified sheet music showing a song's basic structure) during a performance by "carefully following the patterns and groupings of notes arranged on the page" and made his own notations to the music, using his ear to detect semitonal differences. Granata states that some of the most accomplished classically trained musicians soon noticed his musical understanding, and remarked that Sinatra had a "sixth sense", which "demonstrated unusual proficiency when it came to detecting incorrect notes and sounds within the orchestra". Sinatra was an aficionado of classical music, and would often request classical strains in his music, inspired by composers such as Puccini and Impressionist masters. His personal favorite was Ralph Vaughan Williams. He would insist on always recording live with the band because it gave him a "certain feeling" to perform live surrounded by musicians.
By the mid 1940s, such was his understanding of music that after hearing an air check of some compositions by Alec Wilder which were for strings and woodwinds, he became the conductor at Columbia Records for six of Wilder's compositions: "Air for Oboe", "Air for English Horn", "Air for Flute", "Air for Bassoon", "Slow Dance" and "Theme and Variations". The works, which combine elements of jazz and classical music, were considered by Wilder to have been among the finest renditions and recordings of his compositions, past or present. At one recording session with arranger Claus Ogerman and an orchestra, Sinatra heard "a couple of little strangers" in the string section, prompting Ogerman to make corrections to what were thought to be copyist's errors. Critic Gene Lees, a lyricist and the author of the words to the Jobim melody "This Happy Madness", expressed amazement when he heard Sinatra's recording of it on Sinatra & Company (1971), considering him to have delivered the lyrics to perfection.
Voice coach John Quinlan was impressed by Sinatra's vocal range, remarking, "He has far more voice than people think he has. He can vocalize to a B-flat on top in full voice, and he doesn't need a mic either". As a singer, early on he was primarily influenced by Bing Crosby, but later believed that Tony Bennett was "the best singer in the business". Bennett also praised Sinatra himself, claiming that as a performer, he had "perfected the art of intimacy." According to Nelson Riddle, Sinatra had a "fairly rangy voice", remarking that "His voice has a very strident, insistent sound in the top register, a smooth lyrical sound in the middle register, and a very tender sound in the low. His voice is built on infinite taste, with an overall inflection of sex. He points everything he does from a sexual standpoint". Despite his heavy New Jersey accent, according to Richard Schuller, when Sinatra sang his accent was barely detectable, with his diction becoming "precise" and articulation "meticulous". His timing was impeccable, allowing him, according to Charles L. Granata, to "toy with the rhythm of a melody, bringing tremendous excitement to his reading of a lyric". Tommy Dorsey observed that Sinatra would "take a musical phrase and play it all the way through seemingly without breathing for eight, ten, maybe sixteen bars". Dorsey was a considerable influence on Sinatra's techniques for his vocal phrasing with his own exceptional breath control on the trombone, and Sinatra regularly swam and held his breath underwater, thinking of song lyrics to increase his breathing power.
Arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Anthony Fanzo found Sinatra to be a perfectionist who constantly drove himself and others around him, stating that his collaborators approached him with a sense of uneasiness because of his unpredictable and often volatile temperament. Granata comments that Sinatra was almost fanatically obsessed with perfection to the point that people began wondering if he was genuinely concerned about the music or showing off his power over others. On days when he felt that his voice was not right, he would know after only a few notes and would postpone the recording session until the following day, yet still pay his musicians. After a period of performing, Sinatra tired of singing a certain set of songs and was always looking for talented new songwriters and composers to work with. Once he found ones that he liked, he actively sought to work with them as often as he could, and made friends with many of them. He once told Sammy Cahn, who wrote songs for Anchors Aweigh, "if you're not there Monday, I'm not there Monday". Over the years he recorded 87 of Cahn's songs, of which 24 were composed by Jule Styne, and 43 by Jimmy Van Heusen. The Cahn-Styne partnership lasted from 1942 until 1954, when Van Heusen succeeded him as Sinatra's main composer.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Sinatra insisted upon direct input regarding arrangements and tempos for his recordings. He would spend weeks thinking about the songs he wanted to record, and would keep an arranger in mind for each song. If it was a mellow love song, he would ask for Gordon Jenkins. If it was a "rhythm" number, he would think of Billy May, or perhaps Neil Hefti or some other favored arranger. Jenkins considered Sinatra's musical sense to be unerring. His changes to Riddle's charts would frustrate Riddle, yet he would usually concede that Sinatra's ideas were superior. Barbara Sinatra notes that Sinatra would almost always credit the songwriter at the end of each number, and would often make comments to the audience, such as "Isn't that a pretty ballad" or "Don't you think that's the most marvelous love song", delivered with "childlike delight". She states that after each show, Sinatra would be "in a buoyant, electrically charged mood, a post-show high that would take him hours to come down from as he quietly relived every note of the performance he'd just given".
Sinatra's split with Gardner in the fall of 1953 had a profound impact on the types of songs he sang and on his voice. He began to console himself in songs with a "brooding melancholy", such as "I'm a Fool to Want You", "Don't Worry 'Bout Me", "My One and Only Love" and "There Will Never Be Another You", which Riddle believed was the direct influence of Ava Gardner. Lahr comments that the new Sinatra was "not the gentle boy balladeer of the forties. Fragility had gone from his voice, to be replaced by a virile adult's sense of happiness and hurt". Author Granata considered Sinatra a "master of the art of recording", noting that his work in the studio "set him apart from other gifted vocalists". During his career he made over 1000 recordings. Recording sessions would typically last three hours, though Sinatra would always prepare for them by spending at least an hour by the piano beforehand to vocalize, followed by a short rehearsal with the orchestra to ensure the balance of sound. During his Columbia years Sinatra used an RCA 44 microphone, which Granata describes as "the 'old-fashioned' microphone which is closely associated with Sinatra's crooner image of the 1940s", though when performing on talk shows later he used a bullet-shaped RCA 77. At Capitol he used a Neumann U47, an "ultra-sensitive" microphone which better captured the timbre and tone of his voice.
In the 1950s, Sinatra's career was facilitated by developments in technology. Up to sixteen songs could now be held by the twelve-inch L.P., and this allowed Sinatra to use song in a novelistic way, turning each track in a kind of chapter, which built and counterpointed moods to illuminate a larger theme". Santopietro writes that through the 1950s and well into the 1960s, "Every Sinatra LP was a masterpiece of one sort of another, whether uptempo, torch song, or swingin' affairs. Track after track, the brilliant concept albums redefined the nature of pop vocal art".
Film career
Debut, musical films, and career slump (1941–1952)
Sinatra attempted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood in the early 1940s. While films appealed to him, being exceptionally self-confident, he was rarely enthusiastic about his own acting, once remarking that "pictures stink". Sinatra made his film debut performing in an uncredited sequence in Las Vegas Nights (1941), singing "I'll Never Smile Again" with Tommy Dorsey's Pied Pipers. He had a cameo role along with Duke Ellington and Count Basie in Charles Barton's Reveille with Beverly (1943), making a brief appearance singing "Night and Day". Next, he was given leading roles in Higher and Higher and Step Lively (both 1944) for RKO.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cast Sinatra opposite Gene Kelly and Kathryn Grayson in the Technicolor musical Anchors Aweigh (1945), in which he played a sailor on leave in Hollywood for four days. A major success, it garnered several Academy Award wins and nominations, and the song "I Fall in Love Too Easily", sung by Sinatra in the film, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He briefly appeared at the end of Richard Whorf's commercially successful Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a Technicolor musical biopic of Jerome Kern, in which he sang "Ol' Man River".
Sinatra co-starred again with Gene Kelly in the Technicolor musical Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), a film set in 1908, in which Sinatra and Kelly play baseball players who are part-time vaudevillians. He teamed up with Kelly for a third time in On the Town (also 1949), playing a sailor on leave in New York City. The film remains rated very highly by critics, and in 2006 it ranked No. 19 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals. Both Double Dynamite (1951), an RKO Irving Cummings comedy produced by Howard Hughes, and Joseph Pevney's Meet Danny Wilson (1952) failed to make an impression. The New York World Telegram and Sun ran the headline "Gone on Frankie in '42; Gone in '52".
Career comeback and prime (1953–1959)
Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity (1953) deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sinatra had long been desperate to find a film role which would bring him back into the spotlight, and Columbia Pictures boss Harry Cohn had been inundated by appeals from people across Hollywood to give Sinatra a chance to star as "Maggio" in the film. During production, Montgomery Clift became a close friend, and Sinatra later professed that he "learned more about acting from him than anybody I ever knew before". After several years of critical and commercial decline, his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor win helped him regain his position as the top recording artist in the world. His performance also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. The Los Angeles Examiner wrote that Sinatra is "simply superb, comical, pitiful, childishly brave, pathetically defiant", commenting that his death scene is "one of the best ever photographed".
Sinatra starred opposite Doris Day in the musical film Young at Heart (1954), and earned critical praise for his performance as a psychopathic killer posing as an FBI agent opposite Sterling Hayden in the film noir Suddenly (also 1954).
Sinatra was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). After roles in Guys and Dolls, and The Tender Trap (both 1955), Sinatra was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role as a medical student in Stanley Kramer's directorial début, Not as a Stranger (also 1955). During production, Sinatra got drunk with Robert Mitchum and Broderick Crawford and trashed Kramer's dressing room. Kramer vowed to never hire Sinatra again at the time, and later regretted casting him as a Spanish guerrilla leader in The Pride and the Passion (1957).
Sinatra featured alongside Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in High Society (1956) for MGM, earning a reported $250,000 for the picture. The public rushed to the cinemas to see Sinatra and Crosby together on-screen, and it ended up earning over $13million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing pictures of its year. He starred opposite Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak in George Sidney's Pal Joey (1957), Sinatra, for which he won for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Santopietro considers the scene in which Sinatra sings "The Lady Is a Tramp" to Hayworth to have been the finest moment of his film career. He next portrayed comedian Joe E. Lewis in The Joker Is Wild (also 1957); the song "All the Way" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. By 1958, Sinatra was one of the ten biggest box office draws in the United States, appearing with Dean Martin and Shirley MacLaine in Vincente Minnelli's Some Came Running and Kings Go Forth (both 1958) with Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. "High Hopes", sung by Sinatra in the Frank Capra comedy, A Hole in the Head (1959), won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became a chart hit, lasting on the Hot 100 for 17 weeks.
Later career (1960–1980)
Due to an obligation he owed to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Henry King's Carousel (1956), Sinatra starred opposite Shirley MacLaine, Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jourdan in Can-Can (1960). He earned $200,000 and 25% of the profits for the performance. Around the same time, he starred in the Las Vegas-set Ocean's 11 (also 1960), the first film to feature the Rat Pack together and the start of a "new era of screen cool" for Santopietro. Sinatra personally financed the film, and paid Martin and Davis fees of $150,000 and $125,000 respectively, sums considered exorbitant for the period. He had a leading role opposite Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate (1962), which he considered to be the role he was most excited about and the high point of his film career. Vincent Canby, writing for the magazine Variety, found the portrayal of Sinatra's character to be "a wide-awake pro creating a straight, quietly humorous character of some sensitivity." He appeared with the Rat Pack in the western Sergeants 3 (also 1962), following it with 4 for Texas (1963). For his performance in Come Blow Your Horn (also 1963) adapted from the Neil Simon play, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor– Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Sinatra directed None but the Brave (1965), and Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a major success, However, in the mid 1960s, Brad Dexter wanted to "breathe new life" into Sinatra's film career by helping him display the same professional pride in his films as he did his recordings. On one occasion, he gave Sinatra Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange (1962) to read, with the idea of making a film, but Sinatra thought it had no potential and did not understand a word.
In the late 1960s, Sinatra became known for playing detectives, including Tony Rome in Tony Rome (1967) and its sequel Lady in Cement (1968). He also played a similar role in The Detective (1968).
Sinatra starred opposite George Kennedy in the western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), an "abysmal" affair according to Santopietro, which was panned by the critics. The following year, Sinatra received a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award and had intended to play Detective Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry (1971), but had to turn the role down due to developing Dupuytren's contracture in his hand. Sinatra's last major film role was opposite Faye Dunaway in Brian G. Hutton's The First Deadly Sin (1980). Santopietro said that as a troubled New York City homicide cop, Sinatra gave an "extraordinarily rich", heavily layered characterization, one which "made for one terrific farewell" to his film career.
Television and radio career
After beginning on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio show with the Hoboken Four in 1935, and later WNEW and WAAT in Jersey City, Sinatra became the star of radio shows of his own on NBC and CBS from the early 1940s to the mid-1950s. In 1942, Sinatra hired arranger Axel Stordahl away from Tommy Dorsey before he began his first radio program that year, keeping Stordahl with him for all of his radio work. By the end of 1942, he was named the "Most Popular Male Vocalist on Radio" in a DownBeat poll. Early on he frequently worked with The Andrews Sisters on radio, and they would appear as guests on each other's shows, as well as on many USO shows broadcast to troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). He appeared as a special guest in the sisters' ABC Eight-to-the-Bar Ranch series, while the trio in turn guested on his Songs by Sinatra series on CBS. Sinatra had two stints as a regular member of cast of Your Hit Parade; his first was from 1943 to 1945, and second was from 1946 to May 28, 1949, during which he was paired with the then-new girl singer, Doris Day. Starting in September 1949, the BBD&O advertising agency produced a radio series starring Sinatra for Lucky Strike called Light Up Time– some 176 15-minute shows which featured Frank and Dorothy Kirsten singing– which lasted through to May 1950.
In October 1951, the second season of The Frank Sinatra Show began on CBS Television. Ultimately, Sinatra did not find the success on television for which he had hoped. Santopietro writes that Sinatra "simply never appeared fully at ease on his own television series, his edgy, impatient personality conveying a pent up energy on the verge of exploding". In 1953, Sinatra starred in the NBC radio program Rocky Fortune, portraying Rocco Fortunato (a.k.a. Rocky Fortune), a "footloose and fancy free" temporary worker for the Gridley Employment Agency who stumbles into crime-solving. The series aired on NBC radio Tuesday nights from October 1953 to March 1954.
In 1957, Sinatra formed a three-year $3million contract with ABC to launch The Frank Sinatra Show, featuring himself and guests in 36 half-hour shows. ABC agreed to allow Sinatra's Hobart Productions to keep 60% of the residuals, and bought stock in Sinatra's film production unit, Kent Productions, guaranteeing him $7million. Though an initial critical success upon its debut on October 18, 1957, it soon attracted negative reviews from Variety and The New Republic, and The Chicago Sun-Times thought that Sinatra and frequent guest Dean Martin "performed like a pair of adult delinquents", "sharing the same cigarette and leering at girls". In return, Sinatra later made numerous appearances on The Dean Martin Show and Martin's TV specials.
Sinatra's fourth and final Timex TV special, Welcome Home Elvis, was broadcast in March 1960, earning massive viewing figures. During the show, he performed a duet with Presley, who sang Sinatra's 1957 hit "Witchcraft" with the host performing the 1956 Presley classic "Love Me Tender". Sinatra had previously been highly critical of Elvis Presley and rock and roll in the 1950s, describing it as a "deplorable, a rancid smelling aphrodisiac" which "fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people." A CBS News special about the singer's 50th birthday, Frank Sinatra: A Man and His Music, was broadcast on November 16, 1965, and garnered both an Emmy award and a Peabody Award.
According his musical collaboration with Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald in 1967, Sinatra appeared in the TV special, A Man and His Music + Ella + Jobim, which was broadcast on CBS on November 13. When Sinatra came out of retirement in 1973, he released both an album and appeared in a TV special named Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back. The TV special was highlighted by a dramatic reading of "Send in the Clowns" and a song-and-dance sequence with former co-star Gene Kelly. In the late 1970s, John Denver appeared as a guest in the Sinatra and Friends ABC-TV Special, singing "September Song" as a duet.
Sinatra starred as a detective in Contract on Cherry Street (1977), cited as his "one starring role in a dramatic television film". Ten years later, he made a guest appearance opposite Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I., playing a retired policeman who teams up with Selleck to find his granddaughter's murderer. Shot in January 1987, the episode aired on CBS on February 25.
Personal life
Sinatra had three children, Nancy (born 1940), Frank Jr. (1944–2016) and Tina (born 1948), with his first wife, Nancy Sinatra (née Barbato, 1917–2018), to whom he was married from 1939 to 1951.
Sinatra had met Barbato in Long Branch, New Jersey in the summer of 1934, while working as a lifeguard. He agreed to marry her after an incident at "The Rustic Cabin" which led to his arrest. Sinatra had numerous extramarital affairs, and gossip magazines published details of affairs with women including Marilyn Maxwell, Lana Turner, and Joi Lansing.
Sinatra was married to Hollywood actress Ava Gardner from 1951 to 1957. It was a turbulent marriage with many well-publicized fights and altercations. The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.
Sinatra reportedly broke off engagements to Lauren Bacall in 1958 and Juliet Prowse in 1962. He married Mia Farrow on July 19, 1966, a short marriage that ended with divorce in Mexico in August 1968. They remained close friends for life, and in a 2013 interview Farrow said that Sinatra might be the father of her son Ronan Farrow (born 1987). In a 2015 CBS Sunday Morning interview, Nancy Sinatra dismissed the claim as "nonsense".
Sinatra was married to Barbara Marx from 1976 until his death. The couple married on July 11, 1976, at Sunnylands, in Rancho Mirage, California, the estate of media magnate Walter Annenberg.
Sinatra was close friends with Jilly Rizzo, songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen, golfer Ken Venturi, comedian Pat Henry and baseball manager Leo Durocher. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to classical music and attended concerts when he could. He swam daily in the Pacific Ocean, finding it to be therapeutic and giving him much-needed solitude. He often played golf with Venturi at the course in Palm Springs, where he lived, and liked painting, reading, and building model railways.
Though Sinatra was critical of the Church on numerous occasions and had a pantheistic, Einstein-like view of God in his earlier life, he was inducted into the Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1976, and he turned to Roman Catholicism for healing after his mother died in a plane crash in 1977. He died as a practicing Catholic and had a Catholic burial.
Style and personality
Sinatra was known for his immaculate sense of style. He spent lavishly on expensive custom-tailored tuxedos and stylish pin-striped suits, which made him feel wealthy and important, and that he was giving his very best to the audience. He was also obsessed with cleanliness—while with the Tommy Dorsey band he developed the nickname "Lady Macbeth", because of frequent showering and switching his outfits. His deep blue eyes earned him the popular nickname "Ol' Blue Eyes".
For Santopietro, Sinatra was the personification of America in the 1950s: "cocky, eye on the main chance, optimistic, and full of the sense of possibility". Barbara Sinatra wrote, "A big part of Frank's thrill was the sense of danger that he exuded, an underlying, ever-present tension only those closest to him knew could be defused with humor". Cary Grant, a friend of Sinatra, stated that Sinatra was the "most honest person he'd ever met", who spoke "a simple truth, without artifice which scared people", and was often moved to tears by his performances. Jo-Caroll Dennison commented that he possessed "great inner strength", and that his energy and drive were "enormous". A workaholic, he reportedly only slept four hours a night on average. Throughout his life, Sinatra had mood swings and bouts of mild to severe depression, stating to an interviewer in the 1950s that "I have an over-acute capacity for sadness as well as elation". Barbara Sinatra stated that he would "snap at anyone for the slightest misdemeanor", while Van Heusen said that when Sinatra got drunk it was "best to disappear".
Sinatra's mood swings often developed into violence, directed at people he felt had crossed him, particularly journalists who gave him scathing reviews, publicists, and photographers. According to Rojek he was "capable of deeply offensive behavior that smacked of a persecution complex". He received negative press for fights with Lee Mortimer in 1947, photographer Eddie Schisser in Houston in 1950, Judy Garland's publicist Jim Byron on the Sunset Strip in 1954, and for a confrontation with Washington Post journalist Maxine Cheshire in 1973, in which he implied that she was a cheap prostitute.
His feud with then-Chicago Sun Times columnist Mike Royko began when Royko wrote a column questioning why Chicago police offered free protection to Sinatra when the singer had his own security. Sinatra fired off an angry letter in response calling Royko a "pimp", and threatening to "punch you in the mouth" for speculating that he wore a toupée. Royko auctioned the letter, the proceeds going to the Salvation Army. The winner of the auction was Vie Carlson, mother of Bun E. Carlos of the rock group Cheap Trick. After appearing on Antiques Roadshow, Carlson consigned the letter to Freeman's Auctioneers & Appraisers, which auctioned it in 2010.
Sinatra was also known for his generosity, particularly after his comeback. Kelley notes that when Lee J. Cobb nearly died from a heart attack in June 1955, Sinatra flooded him with "books, flowers, delicacies", paid his hospital bills, and visited him daily, telling him that his "finest acting" was yet to come. In another instance, after an argument with manager Bobby Burns, rather than apologize, Sinatra bought him a brand new Cadillac.
Alleged organized-crime links and Cal Neva Lodge
Sinatra became the stereotype of the "tough working-class Italian American", something which he embraced. He said that if it had not been for his interest in music, he would have likely ended up in a life of crime. Willie Moretti was Sinatra's godfather and the notorious underboss of the Genovese crime family, and he helped Sinatra in exchange for kickbacks and was reported to have intervened in releasing Sinatra from his contract with Tommy Dorsey. Sinatra was present at the Mafia Havana Conference in 1946, and the press learned of his being there with Lucky Luciano. One newspaper published the headline "Shame, Sinatra". He was reported to be a good friend of mobster Sam Giancana, and the two men were seen playing golf together. Kelley quotes Jo-Carrol Silvers that Sinatra "adored" Bugsy Siegel, and boasted to friends about him and how many people Siegel had killed. Kelley says that Sinatra and mobster Joseph Fischetti had been good friends from 1938 onward, and acted like "Sicilian brothers". She also states that Sinatra and Hank Sanicola were financial partners with Mickey Cohen in the gossip magazine Hollywood Night Life.
The FBI kept records amounting to 2,403 pages on Sinatra, who was a natural target with his alleged Mafia ties, his ardent New Deal politics, and his friendship with John F. Kennedy. The FBI kept him under surveillance for almost five decades beginning in the 1940s. The documents include accounts of Sinatra as the target of death threats and extortion schemes. The FBI documented that Sinatra was losing esteem with the Mafia as he grew closer to President Kennedy, whose younger brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was leading a crackdown on organized crime. Sinatra said he was not involved: "Any report that I fraternized with goons or racketeers is a vicious lie".
In 1960, Sinatra bought a share in the Cal Neva Lodge & Casino, a casino hotel that straddles the California-Nevada state line on the north shores of Lake Tahoe. Sinatra built the Celebrity Room theater which attracted his show business friends Red Skelton, Marilyn Monroe, Victor Borge, Joe E. Lewis, Lucille Ball, Lena Horne, Juliet Prowse, the McGuire Sisters, and others. By 1962, he reportedly held a 50-percent share in the hotel. Sinatra's gambling license was temporarily stripped by the Nevada Gaming Control Board in 1963 after Giancana was spotted on the premises. Due to ongoing pressure from the FBI and Nevada Gaming Commission on mobster control of casinos, Sinatra agreed to give up his share in Cal Neva and the Sands. That year, his son Frank Jr. was kidnapped but was eventually released unharmed. Sinatra's gambling license was restored in February 1981, following support from Ronald Reagan.
Politics and activism
Sinatra held differing political views throughout his life. His mother, Dolly Sinatra (1896–1977), was a Democratic Party ward leader, and after meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, he subsequently heavily campaigned for the Democrats in the 1944 presidential election. According to Jo Carroll Silvers, in his younger years Sinatra had "ardent liberal" sympathies, and was "so concerned about poor people that he was always quoting Henry Wallace". He was outspoken against racism, particularly toward blacks and Italians, from early on. In November 1945 Sinatra was invited by the mayor of Gary, Indiana, to try to settle a strike by white students of Froebel High School against the "Pro-Negro" policies of the new principal. His comments, while praised by liberal publications, led to accusations by some that he was a Communist, which he said was not true. In the 1948 presidential election, Sinatra actively campaigned for President Harry S. Truman. In 1952 and 1956, he also campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Of all the U.S. presidents he associated with during his career, he was closest to John F. Kennedy. Sinatra often invited Kennedy to Hollywood and Las Vegas, and the two would womanize and enjoy parties together. In January 1961 Sinatra and Peter Lawford organized the Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C., held on the evening before President Kennedy was sworn into office. After taking office, Kennedy decided to cut ties with Sinatra due, in part, to the singer's ties with the Mafia. His brother Robert, who was serving as Attorney General and was known for urging FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to conduct even more crackdowns on the Mafia, was even more distrustful of Sinatra.
In 1962, Sinatra's friendship with Kennedy, whom he first met in the 1950s, officially ended when Kennedy officially decided to remove Sinatra, who never shook off rumors of affiliation with the Mafia, from his "gang." Sinatra was snubbed by the President during his visit to Palm Springs, where Sinatra lived, when he decided to stay with the Republican Bing Crosby, due to FBI concerns about Sinatra's alleged connections to organized crime. Despite also having ties with the Mafia, Crosby was not willing to give as many public hints as Sinatra. Sinatra had invested a lot of his own money in upgrading the facilities at his home in anticipation of the President's visit, fitting it with a heliport, which he later smashed up with a sledgehammer upon being rejected. Despite the snub, when he learned of Kennedy's assassination he reportedly sobbed in his bedroom for three days.
Sinatra worked with Hubert H. Humphrey in 1968, and remained a supporter of the Democratic Party until the early 1970s. Although still a registered Democrat, Sinatra endorsed Republican Ronald Reagan for a second term as Governor of California in 1970. He officially changed allegiance in July 1972 when he supported Richard Nixon for re-election in the 1972 presidential election.
In the 1980 presidential election, Sinatra supported Ronald Reagan and donated $4million to Reagan's campaign. Sinatra arranged Reagan's Presidential gala, as he had done for Kennedy 20 years previously. In 1985, Reagan presented Sinatra with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, remarking, "His love of country, his generosity for those less fortunate... make him one of our most remarkable and distinguished Americans."
Santopietro notes that Sinatra was a "lifelong sympathizer with Jewish causes". He was awarded the Hollzer Memorial Award by the Los Angeles Jewish Community in 1949. He gave a series of concerts in Israel in 1962, and donated his entire $50,000 fee for appearing in a cameo role in Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) to the Youth Center in Jerusalem. On November 1, 1972, he raised $6.5million in bond pledges for Israel, and was given the Medallion of Valor for his efforts. The Frank Sinatra Student Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem was dedicated in his name in 1978. He owned a Jewish skullcap, known as a kippah or yarmulkah, which was sold as part of his wife's estate many years after his death.
From his youth, Sinatra displayed sympathy for African Americans and worked both publicly and privately all his life to help the struggle for equal rights. He blamed racial prejudice on the parents of children. Sinatra played a major role in the desegregation of Nevada hotels and casinos in the 1950s and 1960s. At the Sands in 1955, Sinatra went against policy by inviting Nat King Cole into the dining room, and in 1961, after an incident where an African-American couple entered the lobby of the hotel and were blocked by the security guard, Sinatra and Davis forced the hotel management to begin hiring black waiters and busboys. On January 27, 1961, Sinatra played a benefit show at Carnegie Hall for Martin Luther King Jr. and led his fellow Rat Pack members and Reprise label mates in boycotting hotels and casinos that refused entry to black patrons and performers. According to his son, Frank Jr., King sat weeping in the audience at one of his father's concerts in 1963 as Sinatra sang "Ol' Man River", a song from the musical Show Boat that is sung by an African-American stevedore. When he changed his political affiliations in 1970, Sinatra became less outspoken on racial issues. Though he did much towards civil rights causes, it did not stop the occasional racial jibe from him and the other Rat Pack members toward Davis at concerts.
Death
Sinatra died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on May 14, 1998, aged 82, with his wife by his side after suffering two heart attacks. Sinatra was in ill health during the last few years of his life, and was frequently hospitalized for heart and breathing problems, high blood pressure, pneumonia and bladder cancer. He also suffered from dementia-like symptoms due to his usage of antidepressants. He had made no public appearances following a heart attack in February 1997. Sinatra's wife encouraged him to "fight" while attempts were made to stabilize him, and reported that his final words were, "I'm losing." Sinatra's daughter, Tina, later wrote that she and her siblings (Frank Jr. and Nancy) had not been notified of their father's final hospitalization, and it was her belief that "the omission was deliberate. Barbara would be the grieving widow alone at her husband's side." The night after Sinatra's death, the lights on the Empire State Building in New York City were turned blue, the lights at the Las Vegas Strip were dimmed in his honor, and the casinos stopped spinning for one minute.
Sinatra's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills, California, on May 20, 1998, with 400 mourners in attendance and thousands of fans outside. Gregory Peck, Tony Bennett, and Sinatra's son, Frank Jr., addressed the mourners, who included many notable people from film and entertainment. Sinatra was buried in a blue business suit and his grave was adorned with mementos from family members—cherry-flavored Life Savers, Tootsie Rolls, a bottle of Jack Daniel's, a pack of Camel cigarettes, a Zippo lighter, stuffed toys, a dog biscuit, and a roll of dimes that he always carried—next to his parents in section B-8 of Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
His close friends Jilly Rizzo and Jimmy Van Heusen are buried nearby. The words "The Best Is Yet to Come", plus "Beloved Husband & Father" are imprinted on Sinatra's grave marker. Significant increases in recording sales worldwide were reported by Billboard in the month of his death.
Legacy and honors
Robert Christgau referred to Sinatra as "the greatest singer of the 20th century". His popularity is matched only by Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson. For Santopietro, Sinatra was the "greatest male pop singer in the history of America", who amassed "unprecedented power onscreen and off", and "seemed to exemplify the common man, an ethnic twentieth-century American male who reached the 'top of the heap', yet never forgot his roots". Santopietro argues that Sinatra created his own world, which he was able to dominate—his career was centred around power, perfecting the ability to capture an audience. Encyclopædia Britannica referred to Sinatra as "often hailed as the greatest American singer of 20th-century popular music....Through his life and his art, he transcended the status of mere icon to become one of the most recognizable symbols of American culture."
Gus Levene commented that Sinatra's strength was that when it came to lyrics, telling a story musically, Sinatra displayed a "genius" ability and feeling, which with the "rare combination of voice and showmanship" made him the "original singer" which others who followed most tried to emulate. George Roberts, a trombonist in Sinatra's band, remarked that Sinatra had a "charisma, or whatever it is about him, that no one else had". Biographer Arnold Shaw considered that "If Las Vegas had not existed, Sinatra could have invented it". He quoted reporter James Bacon in saying that Sinatra was the "swinging image on which the town is built", adding that no other entertainer quite "embodied the glamour" associated with Las Vegas as him. Sinatra continues to be seen as one of the icons of the 20th century,
and has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in film and music. There are stars on east and west sides of the 1600 block of Vine Street respectively, and one on the south side of the 6500 block of Hollywood Boulevard for his work in television.
In Sinatra's native Hoboken, he was awarded the Key to the City of by Mayor Fred M. De Sapio on October 30, 1947. In 2003 the city's main post office was rededicated in his honor. A bronze plaque, place two years before Sinatra’s death in 1998, marks the site of the house where he was born. There is also a marker in front of Hoboken Historical Museum, which has artifacts from his life and conducts Sinatra walking tours through the city. Frank Sinatra Drive runs parallel to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. On the waterfront is Frank Sinatra Park, where a bronze plaque was placed in 1989 upon its opening. A tall bronze statue of Sinatra dedicated in 2021 on December 12, the date of Sinatra's birthday in 1915.
A residence hall at Montclair State University in New Jersey was named in his honor.Other buildings named for Sinatra include the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, the Frank Sinatra International Student Center at Israel's Hebrew University in Jerusalem dedicated in 1978, and the Frank Sinatra Hall at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, California, dedicated in 2002. Wynn Resorts' Encore Las Vegas resort features a restaurant dedicated to Sinatra which opened in 2008. Items of memorabilia from Sinatra's life and career are displayed at USC's Frank Sinatra Hall and Wynn Resort's Sinatra restaurant. Near the Las Vegas Strip is a road named Frank Sinatra Drive in his honor. The United States Postal Service issued a 42-cent postage stamp in honor of Sinatra in May 2008, commemorating the tenth anniversary of his death. The United States Congress passed a resolution introduced by Representative Mary Bono Mack on May 20, 2008, designating May 13 as Frank Sinatra Day to honor his contributions to American culture.
Sinatra received three Honorary Degrees during his lifetime. In May 1976, he was invited to speak at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) graduation commencement held at Sam Boyd Stadium. It was at this commencement that he was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate litterarum humanarum by the university. During his speech, Sinatra stated that his education had come from "the school of hard knocks" and was suitably touched by the award. He went on to describe that "this is the first educational degree I have ever held in my hand. I will never forget what you have done for me today". A few years later in 1984 and 1985, Sinatra also received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Loyola Marymount University as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Film and television portrayals
Sinatra has been portrayed on numerous occasions in film and television. A television miniseries based on Sinatra's life, titled Sinatra, was aired by CBS in 1992. The series was directed by James Steven Sadwith, who won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or a Special, and starred Philip Casnoff as Sinatra. Sinatra was written by Abby Mann and Philip Mastrosimone, and produced by Sinatra's daughter, Tina.
Sinatra has subsequently been portrayed on screen by Ray Liotta (The Rat Pack, 1998), James Russo (Stealing Sinatra, 2003), Dennis Hopper (The Night We Called It a Day, 2003), and Robert Knepper (My Way, 2012), and spoofed by Joe Piscopo and Phil Hartman on Saturday Night Live. A biographical film directed by Martin Scorsese has long been planned. A 1998 episode of the BBC documentary series Arena, The Voice of the Century, focused on Sinatra. Alex Gibney directed a four-part biographical series on Sinatra, All or Nothing at All, for HBO in 2015. A musical tribute was aired on CBS television in December 2015 to mark Sinatra's centenary. Sinatra was also portrayed by Rico Simonini in the 2018 feature film Frank & Ava, which is based on a play by Willard Manus.
Sinatra was convinced that Johnny Fontane, a mob-associated singer in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather (1969), was based on his life. Puzo wrote in 1972 that when the author and singer met in Chasen's, Sinatra "started to shout abuse", calling Puzo a "pimp" and threatening physical violence. Francis Ford Coppola, director of the film adaptation, said in the audio commentary that "Obviously Johnny Fontane was inspired by a kind of Frank Sinatra character".
In December 2020, it was announced that Creed singer Scott Stapp will portray Frank Sinatra in Reagan, a biopic of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Discography
The Voice of Frank Sinatra (1946)
Songs by Sinatra (1947)
Christmas Songs by Sinatra (1948)
Frankly Sentimental (1949)
Dedicated to You (1950)
Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra (1950)
Songs for Young Lovers (1954)
Swing Easy! (1954)
In the Wee Small Hours (1955)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (1956)
Close to You (1957)
A Swingin' Affair! (1957)
Where Are You? (1957)
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra (1957)
Come Fly with Me (1958)
Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely (1958)
Come Dance with Me! (1959)
No One Cares (1959)
Nice 'n' Easy (1960)
Sinatra's Swingin' Session!!! (1961)
Ring-a-Ding-Ding! (1961)
Come Swing with Me! (1961)
Swing Along With Me (1961)
I Remember Tommy (1961)
Sinatra and Strings (1962)
Point of No Return (1962)
Sinatra and Swingin' Brass (1962)
All Alone (1962)
Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain (1962)
Sinatra–Basie: An Historic Musical First with Count Basie (1962)
The Concert Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra's Sinatra (1963)
Sinatra Sings Days of Wine and Roses, Moon River, and Other Academy Award Winners (1964)
America, I Hear You Singing with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
It Might as Well Be Swing with Count Basie (1964)
12 Songs of Christmas with Bing Crosby and Fred Waring (1964)
Softly, as I Leave You (1964)
September of My Years (1965)
My Kind of Broadway (1965)
A Man and His Music (1965)
Moonlight Sinatra (1966)
Strangers in the Night (1966)
That's Life (1966)
Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1967)
The World We Knew (1967)
Francis A. & Edward K. with Duke Ellington (1968)
The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas with Frank Sinatra Jr., Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra (1968)
Cycles (1968)
My Way (1969)
A Man Alone (1969)
Watertown (1970)
Sinatra & Company with Antonio Carlos Jobim (1971)
Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back (1973)
Some Nice Things I've Missed (1974)
Trilogy: Past Present Future (1980)
She Shot Me Down (1981)
L.A. Is My Lady (1984)
Duets (1993)
Duets II (1994)
See also
Frank Sinatra bibliography
Frank Sinatra's recorded legacy
The Frank Sinatra Show (radio program)
Notes
References
Sources
Further reading
Freedland, Michael (1998). All the Way: A Biography of Frank Sinatra. St. Martin's Press.
Kaplan, James (2015). Sinatra: The chairman. New York: Doubleday.
Pickard, Roy (1994). Frank Sinatra at the Movies. Hale.
External links
Sinatra family website
Frank Sinatra webradio
Sinatra at the New Jersey Hall of Fame
Frank Sinatra at FBI Records: The Vault
The Sinatra Report, a special section of Billboard's November 20, 1965, issue – beginning immediately after page 34
"Sinatra in Retrospective, Parts 1 and 2," WXXI Public Broadcasting, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Frank Sinatra at Find a Grave
Frank Sinatra
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[
"Retirement slump refers to the average falloff in the party’s vote when the incumbent retires. A positive value of the sophomore surge represents an incumbency advantage. The retirement slump should be positive for an incumbency advantage to exist.\n\nSophomore surge is the average vote gain for freshman winners in election 1 who run again in election 2. Retirement slump is the average vote loss for the parties whose candidates won election 1 and did not run in election 2.\n\nWhen a Sophomore surge and a Retirement slump combine, it is what is called a slurge.\n\nReferences \n\nElections",
"Slump may refer to:\n\nSlump (economics), better known as a recession\nSlump (food), a variety of cobbler\nSlump (geology), a form of mass wasting event\n\"Slump\" (song), by South Korean boy band Stray Kids\nSlump (sports), a period in which a player or team performs below par\nSophomore slump, a failed second effort following a successful introduction\nSenior slump, decreased motivation during a final year of studies\nRetirement slump, the average falloff in the party’s vote when the incumbent retires\nSlumping, a categorical description of an area of techniques for the forming of glass by applying heat to the point where the glass becomes plastic\nDr. Slump, anime and manga, character\nThe workability of a concrete mixture, as determined by a concrete slump test"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family"
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C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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What were his parents like?
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What were Robert Stewart's parents like?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
British people of the Napoleonic Wars
British politicians who committed suicide
British Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland
British duellists
Fellows of the Royal Society
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with mental disorders
Irish MPs 1790–1797
Irish MPs 1798–1800
Irish politicians who committed suicide
Irish Presbyterians
Knights of the Garter
Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Politicians from County Dublin
People educated at The Royal School, Armagh
People of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Political history of Ireland
Stewart
Ulster Scots people
UK MPs 1801–1802
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UK MPs 1806–1807
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs 1812–1818
UK MPs 1818–1820
UK MPs 1820–1826
Londonderry, M2
Robert
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"Morris Massey (born 1939) is a marketing professor/sociologist, and producer of training videos.\n\nEducation\nHis undergraduate and M.B.A. degrees are from the University of Texas, Austin, and his Ph.D. in business is from Louisiana State University.\n\nCareer\nDuring the late 1960s through the 1970s, as an Associate Dean and Professor of Marketing, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, he received four awards for teaching excellence.\n\nDr Massey was honored with the W.M. McFeely award presented by the International Management Council for \"significant contribution to the field of management and human relations.\" During the 1980s and 90s he was the #1 ranked resource for the Young Presidents Organization International. In What Works At Work (Lakewood Publications, 1988) he was cited as one of the 27 most influential workplace experts of the time. His work is focused on values, generations, and Significant Emotional Events (SEE).\n\nDevelopment of values\nMorris Massey has described three major periods during which values are developed.\n\n1. The Imprint Period. Up to the age of seven, we are like sponges, absorbing everything around us and accepting much of it as true, especially when it comes from our parents. The confusion and blind belief of this period can also lead to the early formation of trauma and other deep problems. The critical thing here is to learn a sense of right and wrong, good and bad. This is a human construction which we nevertheless often assume would exist even if we were not here (which is an indication of how deeply imprinted it has become).\n\n2. The Modeling Period. Between the ages of eight and thirteen, we copy people, often our parents, but also other people. Rather than blind acceptance, we are trying on things like suit of clothes, to see how they feel. We may be much impressed with religion or our teachers. You may remember being particularly influenced by junior school teachers who seemed so knowledgeable—maybe even more so than your parents.\n\n3. The Socialization Period. Between 13 and 21, we are very largely influenced by our peers. As we develop as individuals and look for ways to get away from the earlier programming, we naturally turn to people who seem more like us. Other influences at these ages include the media, especially those parts which seem to resonate with the values of our peer groups.\n\nRetirement\nHe retired in 1995 from the consulting/speaking circuit and now lives with his wife, Judith Ford Massey, in New Orleans, Louisiana. They have twin sons, Ryan Massey and Blake Massey.\n\nVideo programs \n What You Are Is Where You Were When... AGAIN!\n Just Get It!\n Flashpoint: When Values Collide\n The Original Massey Tapes - 1: What You Are Is Where You Were When\n The Original Massey Tapes - 3: What You Are Is\n The Original Massey Tapes - 4: What You Are Is Where You See\n What You Are Is What You Choose…So Don't Screw It Up\n Dancing With The Bogeyman\n The Massey Triad Program 1: What You Are Is Where You Were When\n The Massey Triad Program 2: What You Are is Not What You Have To Be\n The Massey Triad Program 3: What You Are Is Where You See\n\nSee also \n Significant Emotional Event (SEE)\n University of Colorado at Boulder\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Changing Minds\n\n1939 births\nLiving people\nLouisiana State University alumni",
"ScreenLimit was a time based content-control software for parents to control the time their children spend on devices.\n\nWorking\nChildren can do assigned tasks like homework to earn more time. Multiple people can use the same or more devices in combination with their own time. They will get a warning when time runs out. When time runs out icons or the desktop will disappear and the ScreenLimit timer page will appear. Multiple schedules can be made like weekend/schoolday/vacation. An example of a schedule could be: Block at 22:00 (regardless of unspent time); Add 60 minutes (a day) at 00:01; UnBlock at 07:00. Parents can see realtime who is using what device. Parents can also manually (un)block a child. With one account multiple children and devices can be managed by multiple parents.\n\nHistory\nScreenLimit was first released in November 2016.\nScreenLimit was closed on 22 January 2019.\n\nReviews\nPC Advisor Full Review\n\nEducational App Store Teacher's Review\n\nSee also \nComparison of content-control software and providers\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n ScreenLimit - Official Website\n\nContent-control software\nInternet safety\nCross-platform software\niOS software\nAndroid (operating system) software\nWindows software"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,"
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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And his mother?
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And who was Robert Stewart's mother?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
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2
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Political history of Ireland
Stewart
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Londonderry, M2
Robert
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[
"The saying of Jesus concerning his true relatives is found in the Canonical gospels of Mark and Matthew.\n\nIn the Bible\nFrom :\n There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing\n without, sent unto him, calling him. \nAnd the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him,\n Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. \nAnd he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my\n brethren? \nAnd he looked round about on them which sat about him, and\n said, Behold my mother and my brethren! \nFor whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my\n brother, and my sister, and mother. \n\nFrom :\n While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and\n his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. \nThen one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren\n stand without, desiring to speak with thee. \nBut he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my\n mother? and who are my brethren? \nAnd he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and\n said, Behold my mother and my brethren! \nFor whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in\n heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.\n\nApocryphal version\nA re-organized version also appears in the Gospel of Thomas (Patterson-Meyer Translation):\n 99 The disciples said to him, \"Your brothers and your mother are\n standing outside.\" He said to them, \"Those here who do what my\n Father wants are my brothers and my mother. They are the ones who\n will enter my Father's kingdom.\" \n 100 They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, \"The Roman\n emperor's people demand taxes from us.\" He said to them, \"Give the\n emperor what belongs to the emperor, give God what belongs to God,\n and give me what is mine.\" \n 101 \"Whoever does not hate [father] and mother as I do cannot be\n my [disciple], and whoever does [not] love [father and] mother as\n I do cannot be my [disciple]. For my mother [...], but my true\n [mother] gave me life.\" \n\nVerse 100 (Caesar's Coin) is similar to Mark 12:13-17 and Luke 20.22-26. Verse 101 (Love Jesus/God more than your family) is similar to and .\n\nSayings of Jesus\nGospel episodes",
"Mother and Child may refer to:\n\nArt\n Mother and Child (Gordine), a 1964 public artwork by Dora Gordine\n Mother & Child (Etrog), an abstract sculpture by Sorel Etrog\n Mother and Child (Cassatt), a painting by Mary Cassatt\n\nFilm and TV\nMother and Child (1924 film), a German silent film starring Henny Porten\nMother and Child (1934 film), a German sound remake also starring Porten\nMother and Child (2009 film), an American drama film directed and written by Rodrigo García\n\"Mother and Child\" (Sliders), a television episode\n An episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex\n\nMusic\nMother and Child, a 2002 work by John Tavener\n Mother and Child (song cycle), composed in 1918 by John Ireland on poems by Cristina Rossetti\nMother and Child, an album by Tenebrae\n\nSee also \n \"Mother and Child Reunion\", a song by Paul Simon on his 1972 album Paul Simon\n Mother and Child Reunion (Degrassi: The Next Generation), two-part pilot episode of the Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation\nMother and Child Scheme (AKA Mother and Child Service), a former healthcare programme in Ireland\n Madonna and Child, a representation of Mary and the baby Jesus, a central icon in both Catholic and Orthodox Christianity; see Madonna"
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"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,"
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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Did he have other siblings?
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Did Robert Stewart have other siblings, besides himself?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
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Burials at Westminster Abbey
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History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with mental disorders
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2
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Londonderry, M2
Robert
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[
"A sibling is a gender neutral word for a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child.\n\nWhile some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separately (such as foster care) most societies have siblings grow up together. This causes the development of strong emotional bonds, with siblinghood often considered a unique form of relationship in of itself. The emotional bond between siblings is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality, and personal experiences outside the family.\n\nMedically, a full sibling is a first-degree relative and a half sibling is a second-degree relative as they are related by 50% and 25% respectively.\n\nDefinitions\n\nThe word sibling was reintroduced in 1903 in an article in Biometrika, as a translation for the German Geschwister, having not been used since 1425.\n\nSiblings or full siblings ([full] sisters or brothers) share the same biological parents. Full siblings are also the most common type of siblings. Twins are siblings that are born at the same time. Often, twins with a close relationship will develop a twin language from infanthood, a language only shared and understood between the two. Studies suggest that identical twins appear to display more twin talk than fraternal twins. At about 3 years of age, twin talk usually ends. Twins generally share a greater bond due to growing up together and being the same age.\n\nHalf-siblings (half-sisters or half-brothers) are people who share one parent. They may share the same mother but different fathers (in which case they are known as uterine siblings or maternal half-siblings), or they may have the same father but different mothers (in which case, they are known as agnate siblings or paternal half-siblings. In law, the term consanguine is used in place of agnate). In law (and especially inheritance law), half-siblings have often been accorded treatment unequal to that of full siblings. Old English common law at one time incorporated inequalities into the laws of intestate succession, with half-siblings taking only half as much property of their intestate siblings' estates as siblings of full-blood. Unequal treatment of this type has been wholly abolished in England, but still exists in the U.S. state of Florida.\n\nThree-quarter siblings share one parent, while the unshared parents are first-degree relatives to each other, for example if a man has children with two women who are sisters, or a woman has children with a man and his son. In the first case, the children are half-siblings as well as first cousins; in the second, the children are half-siblings as well as an avuncular pair. They are genetically closer than half siblings but less genetically close than full siblings, a degree of genetic relationship that is rare in humans and little-studied.\n\nDiblings, a portmanteau of donor sibling, or donor-conceived sibling, or donor-sperm sibling, are biologically connected through donated eggs or sperm. Diblings are biologically siblings though not legally for the purposes of family rights and inheritance. The anonymity of donation is seen to add complication to the process of courtship.\n\nNon blood relations\nRelated through affinity:\n Stepsiblings (stepbrothers or stepsisters) are the children of one's stepparent from a previous relationship.\n Adoptive siblings are raised by a person who is the adoptive parent of one and the adoptive or biological parent of the other. \n Siblings-in-law are the siblings of one's spouse, the spouse of one's sibling, or the spouse of one's spouse's sibling. The spouse of one's spouse's sibling may also be called a co-sibling.\n\nNot related:\n siblings are children who are raised in the same foster home: foster children of one's parent(s), or the children or foster children of one's foster parent.\n God siblings are the children of the godfather or godmother or the godchildren of the father or mother.\n Milk siblings are children who have been nursed by the same woman. This relationship exists in cultures with milk kinship and in Islamic law.\n Cross-siblings are individuals who share one or more half-siblings; if one person has at least one maternal half-sibling and at least one paternal half-sibling, the maternal and paternal half-siblings are cross-siblings to each other.\n\nConsanguinity and genetics\nConsanguinity is the measure of how closely people are related. Genetic relatedness measures how many genes a person shares. As all humans share over 99% of the same genes, consanguinity only matters for the small fraction of genes which vary between different persons. Inheritance of genes has a random element to it, and these two concepts are different. Consanguinity decreases by half for every generation of reproductive separation through their most recent common ancestor. Siblings are 50% related by consanguinity as they are separated from each other by two generation (sibling to parent to sibling) and they share two parents as common ancestors ().\n\nA fraternal twin is a sibling and therefore is related by 50% consanguinity. Fraternal twins are no more genetically similar than regular siblings. As identical twins come from the same zygote, their most recent common ancestor is each other. They are genetically identical and 100% consanguineous as they are separated by zero generations (). Twin studies have been conducted by scientists to examine the roles that genetics and environment play in the development of various traits. Such studies examine how often identical twins possess the same behavioral trait and compare it to how often fraternal twins possess the same trait. In other studies twins are raised in separate families, and studies compare the passing on of a behavioral trait by the family environment and the possession of a common trait between identical twins. This kind of study has revealed that for personality traits which are known to be heritable, genetics play a substantial role throughout life and an even larger role during early years.\n\nHalf siblings are 25% related by consanguinity as they share one parent and separated from each other by two generations (). There is a very small chance that two half-siblings might not share any genes, if they didn't inherit any of the same chromosomes from their shared parent. This is possible for full siblings as well, though even more unlikely. But because of how homologous chromosomes swap genes (due to chromosomal crossover during meiosis) during the development of an egg or sperm cell, however, the odds of this ever actually occurring are practically non-existent.\n\nA person may share more than the standard consanguinity with their sibling if their parents are related (the coefficient of inbreeding is greater than zero). Interestingly half siblings can be related by as \"three quarters siblings\" (related by 3/8) if their unshared parents have a consanguinity of 50%. This means the unshared parents are either siblings, making the half siblings cousins, or parent and child, making them half aunt-uncle and niece-nephew.\n\nBirth order\n\nBirth order is a person's rank by age among his or her siblings. Typically, researchers classify siblings as \"eldest\", \"middle child\", and \"youngest\" or simply distinguish between \"firstborn\" and \"later-born\" children.\n\nBirth order is commonly believed in pop psychology and popular culture to have a profound and lasting effect on psychological development and personality. For example, firstborns are seen as conservative and high achieving, middle children as natural mediators, and youngest children as charming and outgoing. Despite its lasting presence in the public domain, studies have failed to consistently produce clear, valid, and compelling findings. Therefore, it has earned the title of a pseudo-psychology amongst the scientific psychological community.\n\nHistory\nThe theorizing and study of birth order can be traced back to Francis Galton's (1822–1911) theory of birth order and eminence and Alfred Adler's (1870–1937) theory of birth order and personality characteristics.\n\nGalton \nIn his book English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture (1874), Galton noted that prominent composers and scientists are over-represented as first-borns. He theorized three main reasons as to why first-borns are generally more eminent:\n Primogeniture laws: first-borns have access to their parents' financial resources to continue their education.\n First-borns are given more responsibility than their younger siblings and are treated more as companions by their parents.\n First-borns are given more attention and nourishment in families with limited financial resources.\n\nAdler\n First Borns: Fulfilling family roles of leadership and authority, obedient of protocol and hierarchy. Seek out and prefer order, structure and adherence to norms and rules. They partake in goal-striving behaviour as their lives are centred around achievement and accomplishment themes. They fear the loss of their position in the top of the hierarchy.\n Middle Children: Feel like outcasts of families as they lack primacy of the first child and the \"attention garnering recency\" of the youngest. These children often go to great lengths to de-identify themselves with their siblings, in an attempt to make a different and individualized identity for themselves as they feel like they were \"squeezed out\" of their families.\n Youngest Children: Feel disadvantaged compared to older siblings, are often perceived as less capable or experienced and are therefore indulged and spoiled. Because of this, they are skilled in coaxing/charming others to do things for them or provide. This contributes to the image of them being popular and outgoing, as they engage in attention-seeking behaviour to meet their needs.\n\nContemporary findings \nToday, the flaws and inconsistencies in birth order research eliminate its validity. It is very difficult to control solely for factors related to birth order, and therefore most studies produce ambiguous results. Embedded into theories of birth order is a debate of nature versus nurture. It has been disproved that there is something innate in the position one is born into, and therefore creating a preset role. Birth order has no genetic basis.\n\nThe social interaction that occurs as a result of birth order however is the most notable. Older siblings often become role models of behaviour, and younger siblings become learners and supervisees. Older siblings are at a developmental advantage both cognitively and socially. The role of birth order also depends greatly and varies greatly on family context. Family size, sibling identification, age gap, modeling, parenting techniques, gender, class, race, and temperament are all confounding variables that can influence behaviour and therefore perceived behaviour of specific birth categories. The research on birth order does have stronger correlations, however, in areas such as intelligence and physical features, but are likely caused by other factors other than the actual position of birth. Some research has found that firstborn children have slightly higher IQs on average than later born children. However, other research finds no such effect. It has been found that first-borns score three points higher compared to second borns and that children born earlier in a family are on average, taller and weigh more than those born later. However, it is impossible to generalize birth order characteristics and apply them universally to all individuals in that subgroup.\n\nContemporary explanations for IQ findings\n\nResource dilution model \n(Blake, 1981) provide three potential reasons for the higher scoring of older siblings on IQ tests:\n Parental resources are finite, first-born children get full and primary access to these resources.\n As the number of a children in a family goes up, the more resources must be shared.\n These parental resources have an important impact on a child's educational success.\n\nConfluence model \nRobert Zajonc proposed that the intellectual environment within a family is ever-changing due to three factors, and therefore more permissive of first-born children's intellectual advancement:\n Firstborns do not need to share parental attention and have their parents' complete absorption. More siblings in the family limit the attention devoted to each of them.\n Firstborns are exposed to more adult language. Later-borns are exposed to the less-mature speech of their older siblings.\n Firstborns and older siblings must answer questions and explain things to younger siblings, acting as tutors. This advances their cognitive processing of information and language skills.\n\nIn 1996, interest in the science behind birth order was re-sparked when Frank Sulloway’s book Born To Rebel was published. In this book, Sulloway argues that firstborns are more conscientious, more socially dominant, less agreeable, and less open to new ideas compared to later-borns. While being seemingly empirical and academic, as many studies are cited throughout the book, it is still often criticized as a biased and incomplete account of the whole picture of siblings and birth order. Because it is a novel, the research and theories proposed throughout were not criticized and peer-reviewed by other academics before its release.\nLiterature reviews that have examined many studies and attempted to control for confounding variables tend to find minimal effects for birth order on personality.\nIn her review of the scientific literature, Judith Rich Harris suggests that birth order effects may exist within the context of the family of origin, but that they are not enduring aspects of personality.\n\nIn practice, systematic birth order research is a challenge because it is difficult to control for all of the variables that are statistically related to birth order. For example, large families are generally lower in socioeconomic status than small families, so third-born children are more likely than first-born children to come from poorer families. Spacing of children, parenting style, and gender are additional variables to consider.\n\nRegressive behavior at birth\n\nThe arrival of a new baby is especially stressful for firstborns and for siblings between 3 and 5 years old. Regressive behavior and aggressive behavior, such as handling the baby roughly, can also occur. All of these symptoms are considered to be typical and developmentally appropriate for children between the ages of 3–5. While some can be prevented, the remainder can be improved within a few months. Regressive behavior may include demand for a bottle, thumb sucking, requests to wear diapers (even if toilet-trained), or requests to carry a security blanket.\n\nRegressive behaviors are the child's way of demanding the parents' love and attention.\n\nThe American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that instead of protesting or telling children to act their age, parents should simply grant their requests without becoming upset. The affected children will soon return to their normal routine when they realize that they now have just as important a place in the family as the new sibling. Most of the behaviors can be improved within a few months.\n\nThe University of Michigan Health System advises that most occurrences of regressive behavior are mild and to be expected; however, it recommends parents to contact a pediatrician or child psychologist if the older child tries to hurt the baby, if regressive behavior does not improve within 2 or 3 months, or if the parents have other questions or concerns.\n\nRivalry\n\n\"Sibling rivalry\" is a type of competition or animosity among brothers and sisters. It appears to be particularly intense when children are very close in age or of the same gender. Sibling rivalry can involve aggression; however, it is not the same as sibling abuse where one child victimizes another.\n\nSibling rivalry usually starts right after, or before, the arrival of the second child. While siblings will still love each other, it is not uncommon for them to bicker and be malicious to each other. Children are sensitive from the age of 1 year to differences in parental treatment and by 3 years they have a sophisticated grasp of family rules and can evaluate themselves in relation to their siblings. Sibling rivalry often continues throughout childhood and can be very frustrating and stressful to parents. One study found that the age group 10–15 reported the highest level of competition between siblings. Sibling rivalry can continue into adulthood and sibling relationships can change dramatically over the years. Approximately one-third of adults describe their relationship with siblings as rivalrous or distant. However, rivalry often lessens over time and at least 80% of siblings over age 60 enjoy close ties.\n\nEach child in a family competes to define who they are as persons and want to show that they are separate from their siblings. Sibling rivalry increases when children feel they are getting unequal amounts of their parents' attention, where there is stress in the parents' and children's lives, and where fighting is accepted by the family as a way to resolve conflicts. Sigmund Freud saw the sibling relationship as an extension of the Oedipus complex, where brothers were in competition for their mother's attention and sisters for their father's. Evolutionary psychologists explain sibling rivalry in terms of parental investment and kin selection: a parent is inclined to spread resources equally among all children in the family, but a child wants most of the resources for him or herself.\n\nRelationships\n\nJealousy\n\nJealousy is not a single emotion. The basic emotions expressed in jealous interactions are fear, anger, relief, sadness, and anxiety. Jealousy occurs in a social triangle of relationships which do not require a third person. The social triangle involves the relationships between the jealous individual and the parent, the relationship between the parent and the rival, and the relationship between jealous individual and the rival.\n\nNewborn\nFirst-borns' attachment to their parents is directly related to their jealous behaviour. In a study by Volling, four classes of children were identified based on their different responses of jealousy to new infant siblings and parent interactions.\nRegulated Exploration Children: 60% of children fall into this category. These children closely watch their parents interact with their newborn sibling, approach them positively and sometimes join the interaction. They show fewer behaviour problems in the months following the new birth and do not display problematic behaviours during the parent-infant interaction. These children are considered secure as they act how a child would be expected to act in a familiar home setting with their parents present as secure bases to explore the environment.\nApproach-Avoidant Children: 30% of children fall into this category. These children observe parent-infant interaction closely and are less likely to approach the infant and the parent. They are anxious to explore the new environment as they tend to seek little comfort from their parents.\nAnxious-Clingy Children: 6% of children fell into this category. These children have an intense interest in parent-infant interaction and a strong desire to seek proximity and contact with the parent, and sometimes intrude on parent-child interaction.\nDisruptive Children: 2.7% of children fall into this category. These children are emotionally reactive and aggressive. They have difficulty regulating their negative emotions and may be likely to externalize it as negative behaviour around the newborn.\n\nParental effect\nChildren are more jealous of the interactions between newborns and their mothers than they are with newborns and their fathers. This is logical as up until the birth of the infant, the first-born child had the mother as his or her primary care-giver all to his or herself. Some research has suggested that children display less jealous reactions over father-newborn interactions because fathers tend to punish negative emotion and are less tolerant than mothers of clinginess and visible distress, although this is hard to generalize.\n\nChildren that have parents with a better marital relationship are better at regulating their jealous emotions. Children are more likely to express jealousy when their parents are directing their attention to the sibling as opposed to when the parents are solely interacting with them. Parents who are involved in good marital communication help their children cope adaptively with jealousy. They do this by modelling problem-solving and conflict resolution for their children. Children are also less likely to have jealous feelings when they live in a home in which everyone in the family shares and expresses love and happiness.\n\nImplicit theories\nImplicit theories about relationships are associated with the ways children think of strategies to deal with a new situation. \nChildren can fall into two categories of implicit theorizing. They may be malleable theorists and believe that they can affect change on situations and people. Alternatively, they may be fixed theorists, believing situations and people are not changeable. These implicit beliefs determine both the intensity of their jealous feelings, and how long those jealous feelings last.\nMalleable Theorists display engaging behaviours, like interacting with the parent or sibling in an attempt to improve the situation. They tend to have more intense and longer-lasting feelings of jealousy because they spend more time ruminating on the situation and constructing ways to make it better.\nFixed Theorists display non-engaging behaviours, for example retreating to their room because they believe none of their actions will affect or improve the situation. They tend to have less intense and shorter lasting feelings of jealousy than malleable theorists.\n\nDifferent ages\nOlder children tend to be less jealous than their younger sibling. This is due to their ability to mentally process the social situation in a way that gives them more positive, empathetic feelings toward their younger sibling. Older children are better able to cope with their jealous feelings toward their younger sibling due to their understanding of the necessary relationship between the parent and younger sibling. Older children are also better at self-regulating their emotions and are less dependent on their caregivers for external regulation as opposed to their younger siblings.\nYounger siblings' feelings of jealousy are overpowered by feelings of anger. The quality of the relationship between the younger child and the older child is also a factor in jealousy, as the better the relationship the less jealous feelings occurred and vice versa.\n\nConflict\nSibling conflict is pervasive and often shrugged off as an accepted part of sibling dynamics. In spite of the broad variety of conflict that siblings are often involved in, sibling conflicts can be grouped into two broader categories. The first category is conflict about equality or fairness. It is not uncommon to see siblings who think that their sibling is favored by their teachers, peers, or especially their parents. In fact it is not uncommon to see siblings who both think that their parents favor the other sibling. Perceived inequalities in the division of resources such as who got a larger dessert also fall into this category of conflict. This form of conflict seems to be more prevalent in the younger sibling.\n\nThe second category of conflict involves an invasion of a child's perceived personal domain by their sibling. An example of this type of conflict is when a child enters their sibling's room when they are not welcome, or when a child crosses over into their sibling's side of the car in a long road trip. These types of fights seem to be more important to older siblings due to their larger desire for independence.\n\nWarmth\n\nSibling warmth is a term for the degree of affection and companionship shared by siblings. Sibling warmth seems to have an effect on siblings. Higher sibling warmth is related to better social skill and higher perceived social competence. Even in cases where there is a high level of sibling conflict if there is also a high level of sibling warmth then social skills and competence remain unaffected.\n\nNegative effects of conflict\n\nThe saying that people \"fight like siblings\" shows just how charged sibling conflict can be and how well recognized sibling squabbles are. In spite of how widely acknowledged these squabbles can be, sibling conflict can have several impacts on the sibling pair. It has been shown that increased levels of sibling conflict are related to higher levels of anxiety and depression in siblings, along with lower levels of self-worth and lower levels of academic competence. In addition, sibling warmth is not a protective factor for the negative effects of anxiety, depression, lack of self-worth and lower levels of academic competence. This means that sibling warmth does not counteract these negative effects. Sibling conflict is also linked to an increase in more risky behavior including: smoking cigarettes, skipping days of school, contact with the police, and other behaviors in Caucasian sibling pairs with the exception of firstborns with younger brothers. Except for the elder brother in this pair sibling conflict is positively correlated with risky behavior, thus sibling conflict may be a risk factor for behavioral problems. \nA study on what the topic of the fight was (invasion of personal domain or inequality) also shows that the topic of the fight may have a result on the effects of the conflict. This study showed that sibling conflict over personal domain were related to lower levels of self-esteem, and sibling conflict over perceived inequalities seem to be more related to depressive symptoms. However, the study also showed that greater depressive and anxious symptoms were also related to more frequent sibling conflict and more intense sibling conflict.\n\nParental management techniques of conflict\n\nTechniques used by parents to manage their children's conflicts include parental non-intervention, child-centered parental intervention strategies, and more rarely the encouragement of physical conflict between siblings. Parental non-intervention included techniques in which the parent ignores the siblings' conflict and lets them work it out between themselves without outside guidance. In some cases, this technique is chosen to avoid situations in which the parent decides which sibling is in the right and may favor one sibling over the other, however, by following this technique the parent may sacrifice the opportunity to instruct their children on how to deal with conflict. Child-centered parental interventions include techniques in which the parent mediates the argument between the two children and helps them come to an agreement. Using this technique, parents may help model how the children can deal with conflicts in the future; however, parents should avoid dictating the outcome to the children, and make sure that they are mediating the argument making suggestions, allowing the children to decide the outcome. This may be especially important when some of the children have autism. Techniques in which parents encourage physical aggression between siblings may be chosen by the parents to help children deal with aggression in the future, however, this technique does not appear to be effective as it is linked to greater conflict levels between children. Parental non-intervention is also linked to higher levels of sibling conflict, and lower levels of sibling warmth. It appears that child-centered parental interventions have the best effect on sibling's relationship with a link to greater levels of sibling warmth and lower levels of sibling conflict.\n\nLong-term effects of presence\n\nStudies on social skill and personality differences between only children and children with siblings suggest that overall the presence of a sibling does not have any effect on the child as an adult.\n\nGender roles among children and parents\n\nThere have always been some differences between siblings, especially different sex siblings. Often, different sex sibling may consider things to be unfair because their brother or sister is allowed to do certain things because of their gender, while they get to do something less fun or just different. McHale and her colleague conducted a longitudinal study using middle-childhood aged children and observed the way in which the parents contributed to stereotypical attitudes in their kids. In their study the experimenters analysed two different types of families, one with the same sex siblings, and the other with different sex siblings, as well as the children's birth order. The experiment was conducted using phone interviews, in which the experimenters would ask the children about the activities they performed throughout their day outside of school. The experimenters found that in the homes where there were mixed gender kids, and the father held traditional values, the kids also held traditional values and therefore also played gender based roles in the home. In contrast, in homes where the father did not hold traditional values, the house chores were divided more equally among his kids. However, if fathers had two male children, the younger male tended to help more with household chores, but as he reached his teenage years the younger child stopped being as helpful around the house. However, education may be a confounder affecting both the father's attitude and the siblings' behavior, and the mother's attitudes did not have a noticeable impact.\n\nWestermarck effect\nAnthropologist Edvard Westermarck found that children who are brought up together as siblings are desensitized to sexual attraction to one another later in life. This is known as the Westermarck Effect. It can be seen in biological and adoptive families, but also in other situations where children are brought up in close contact, such as the Israeli kibbutz system and the Chinese shim-pua marriage.\n\nSee also\n\n Immediate family\n List of sibling groups\n Sibling relationship\n Siblings Day\n Sladdbarn\n Step-sibling\n Multiple birth\n List of twins\n Triplet\n Twin\n Other symmetric relations\n Cousin\n Friend\n Sibling-in-law\n Significant other (SO; boyfriend or girlfriend)\n Spouse\n\nReferences\n\nFurther reading\n\nExternal links\n\n \nFamily\nKinship and descent",
"Split custody refers to a child custody arrangement in which one parent has sole custody of one or more children while the other parent has sole custody of the remaining siblings. Split custody is rare, as it is thought that it is in the best to keep siblings together for mutual comfort, stability and support. Reasons for split custody can be child preferences for different parents or siblings that do not get along with each other. It is more common for older compared to younger siblings, and then usually at the request of one of the children.\n\nSplit custody is different from shared custody, where all children live approximately equal time with each parent in a shared parenting arrangement.\n\nCriticism\n\nOne criticism of split custody is the same as for sole custody, in that the children only have one primary parent, which has been shown to cause worse physical, mental and social outcomes versus shared parenting. Split custody has also been criticized for separating siblings and limiting the amount of comfort, support and stability that they can give to each other.\n\nSee also\nAlternating custody\nBird's nest custody\nChild custody\nDivorce\nParenting plan\nShared parenting\nSole custody\nThird-party custody\nThe Parent Trap\n\nReferences\n\nChild custody\nJuvenile law\nSibling"
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"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,"
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How many passed as children?
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How many of Robert Stewart's siblings passed as children?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
British people of the Napoleonic Wars
British politicians who committed suicide
British Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland
British duellists
Fellows of the Royal Society
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with mental disorders
Irish MPs 1790–1797
Irish MPs 1798–1800
Irish politicians who committed suicide
Irish Presbyterians
Knights of the Garter
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2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Politicians from County Dublin
People educated at The Royal School, Armagh
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Political history of Ireland
Stewart
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Londonderry, M2
Robert
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"Gera (also known as Gerawa or Fyandigeri) is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Nigeria. Speakers are shifting to Hausa. Speakers refer to themselves as (singular: , plural ).\n\nThere are at least 30 villages. Many Gera villages no longer speak the language. A 2018 survey suggested there are only 4 villages where the language is being passed on to children.\n\nNotes \n\nWest Chadic languages\nLanguages of Nigeria",
"Virtual visitation is the use of electronic communication tools to provide contact between a parent and his or her children as part of a parenting plan or custody order. Virtual visitation includes many forms of communication, such as e-mail, instant messaging, and videoconferencing.\n\nHistory\nIn United States Law, virtual visitation refers to the right of a noncustodial parent to have electronic communication with his or her children. Virtual visitation first appeared in divorces in the late 1990s. Initially, virtual visitation was used to justify relocating away from a noncustodial parent. Now, states with virtual visitation laws do not allow virtual visitation as a justification to relocate a child away from a noncustodial parent. Virtual visitation law works for both parents to maintain contact with their children when they cannot be with the children in person. The court may decide the frequency and duration as a part of a parenting plan.\n\nStates with virtual visitation laws\nIn 2004, Utah passed the first virtual visitation law in the United States, which permitted the automatic use of virtual visitation. The Utah Code Advisory Guidelines provides the courts guidance on using Virtual Parent-Time.\n\nIn 2006, Wisconsin became the second state to pass a virtual visitation law. The Wisconsin law defines virtual visitation as \"electronic communication,\" which is the predominant term used in the other state laws. In 2007, Texas and Florida passed similar virtual visitation legislation. In 2009, North Carolina became the fifth state and Illinois the sixth to pass virtual visitation legislation.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nInternetVisitation.org\n\nChild custody"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,",
"How many passed as children?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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Did he marry?
| 5 |
Did Robert Stewart marry?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
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Irish politicians who committed suicide
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2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
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People educated at The Royal School, Armagh
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Political history of Ireland
Stewart
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Londonderry, M2
Robert
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"I Told You So is a 1970 Ghanaian movie. The movie portrays Ghanaians and their way of life in a satirical style. It also gives insight into the life of a young lady who did not take the advice of her father when about to marry a man, she did not know anything about the man she was going to marry, but rather took her mother's and uncle's advice because of the wealth and power the man has.\n\nThe young lady later finds out that the man she is supposed to marry was an armed robber. She was unhappy of the whole incident. When her dad ask what had happened, she replied that the man she was supposed to marry is an armed robber; her father ended by saying \"I told you so\".\n\nCast\nBobe Cole\nMargret Quainoo (Araba Stamp)\nKweku Crankson (Osuo Abrobor)\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n I TOLD YOU SO GHANAIAN MOVIE\n\n1970 films\nGhanaian films",
"Marianus III (died 1321) was the sole Giudice of Arborea from 1308 to his death. He co-ruled with his elder brother Andrew from the death of their father, John of Arborea, in 1304. Their mother was Vera Cappai. They were illegitimate.\n\nIn 1312, he was constrained by the Republic of Pisa to buy his own right of succession from the Emperor Henry VII and to marry Constance of Montalcino by proxy. In 1314, he requested aid from the Crown of Aragon against the Pisans.\n\nHe restored roads and bridges, complete the walls of Oristano and her defensive towers, and constructed a new archiepiscopal palace.\n\nHe never did marry Constance, but he did cohabitate with Padulesa de Serra, who gave him six children, among whom was his successor, Hugh II.\n\n1321 deaths\nJudges (judikes) of Arborea\nYear of birth unknown"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,",
"How many passed as children?",
"I don't know.",
"Did he marry?",
"In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia"
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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Did he father children with her?
| 6 |
Did Robert Stewart father children with Amelia Hobart?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children.
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
British people of the Napoleonic Wars
British politicians who committed suicide
British Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland
British duellists
Fellows of the Royal Society
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with mental disorders
Irish MPs 1790–1797
Irish MPs 1798–1800
Irish politicians who committed suicide
Irish Presbyterians
Knights of the Garter
Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Politicians from County Dublin
People educated at The Royal School, Armagh
People of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Political history of Ireland
Stewart
Ulster Scots people
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Londonderry, M2
Robert
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[
"Perfect is a children's novel by American author Natasha Friend, first published in 2004 by Milkweed Editions. Perfect won the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature in 2004. This book is about a young girl's struggle with bulimia nervosa.\n\nPlot summary\nIsabelle Lee is a 13-year-old girl with an eating disorder. The disorder developed over time after the death of her father when her mother begins to send her to group therapy. She soon realizes that the most popular girl in school, Ashley Barnum, goes to the group and begins to be friends with her.\n\nThemes\nTowards the end of the book, Isabelle realizes that nobody is perfect. Even the pretty, nice, and smart have problems and are not perfect themselves, even if they seem that way. She learns to cope with her father's death and accepts the fact that no one is perfect...\n\nCoping\nIsabelle had developed the eating disorder of bulimia nervosa due to her problems with coping. Her father had died two years prior to her eating disorder. Isabelle felt as if she could not deal or cope with her father’s death. This was because she felt as if she did not have the full support of her mother because her mom stayed in her bed depressed. Problems coping with death or things that are stressful are linked as onsets to eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa in Isabelle’s case. Her eating disorder was the only way she felt as if she could control what was taking place in her life, since she could not control the death of her father.\n\nLoneliness\nIsabelle experienced the feeling of loneliness especially after her father's death. She did not necessarily feel accepted by others at her school especially by the popular girls and the guys in her classes. This made her experience loneliness in a social aspect of her life not including the loneliness she felt within her own home. Isabelle felt as if she was by herself when it came to dealing with her father's death because her mother never wanted to talk about the death. This lack of communication within Isabelle's family had a lot to do with the fact that she reached out to binge eating as a source of comfort during her times of struggle. Many people who experience eating disorders whether it be anorexia or bulimia nervosa have dealt with feeling lonely within social situations.\n\nEarly trauma\nIsabelle was trying to cope with her father's death in the wrong way by binge eating. Her father's death was a very traumatic thing that happened in her life. Therefore, she was not prepared to deal with this traumatic experience so she turned to the comfort of binging and purging. Early trauma experiences such as death, illnesses, and rape have all been linked to the formation of eating disorders in teens and young adults. Not only can these traumatic events be the cause of eating disorders in the future, but they can wait and show up in an individual's middle to late adulthood.\n\nAwards and achievements\nIsinglass Teen Book Award, 2008\nGolden Sower Award, 2007\nBlack-Eyed Susan Award nominee, 2007–2008\nBook Sense Pick, 2005\nMilkweed Prize for Children's Literature, 2004\n\nReferences\n\n2004 American novels\nAmerican children's novels\n2004 children's books\nNovels about eating disorders",
"Between Two Seas is a children's novel by Marie-Louise Jensen. It was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. It is about a young girl, Marianne Shaw, who sets out on a journey to Denmark in search of her father, after her mother dies in England.\n\nPlot summary\nThe story starts in 1885, Grimsby, England. Marianne is the illegitimate daughter of a once wealthy English woman and a Danish father, who left her mother not knowing that she was pregnant, and promising to return to England one day. Marianne's mother is dangerously ill and on her deathbed, gives Marianne some money, telling her to search for her father in Denmark.\n\nMarianne's mother dies, poor and friendless, living in squalid surroundings in Grimsby. Marianne starts the perilous journey to Skagen, Denmark to find her father. The journey is long and hard, and finally she arrives at Skagen, now penniless and destitute, and foreign, unable to speak Danish, only to find that her father, Lars Christensen, has been dead for years which is why he did not return for her mother.\n\nMarianne is stranded in Skagen with nowhere to go, and so is forced to stay with a poor fisherman's family as a servant. They live in a horribly dirty house with grime on the walls and windows, where the children are covered with lice, the mother suffers from post-natal depression, the father is a drunk and they have barely enough food to live on. Nevertheless, Marianne works and lives there in exchange for a little bit of food and lodging.\n\nMarianne is afraid to tell anyone of her birth, fearing that they will despise and ridicule her, as everyone did in London. However, she befriends a girl called Hannah, who is also an illegitimate child. She is surprised at how everyone in Skagen accepts Hannah into society and does not seem to mind about her origin. She is still afraid to tell anyone, even Hannah, about her birth, though.\n\nShe discovers that her father had a brother, who still resides in Skagen. She contemplates telling her Uncle about her existence, however, she decides against it on finding that he has a reputation for being a very strict man. She is afraid that he will despise her birth, even though they are family. She becomes close friends with his son, and grows to treat him like a cousin, although he himself is unaware that they are related.\n\nShe falls in love with a young fisherman named Peter, but her love for painting and rumours about her friendship with a French painter, separates them. They come together again at the end, and Peter proposes. She accepts but says she wants to carry on learning to paint. She is also reunited with her father, who was really the man she thought was her uncle.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Review by Philip Ardagh, from The Guardian\n\n2008 novels\nNovels set in Denmark\nNovels set in Lincolnshire\nFiction set in 1885"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,",
"How many passed as children?",
"I don't know.",
"Did he marry?",
"In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia",
"Did he father children with her?",
"By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children."
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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How long were they together?
| 7 |
How long were Robert Stewart and Amelia Hobart together?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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the two remained devoted to each other to the end,
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
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2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
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Londonderry, M2
Robert
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[
"\"How Long, How Long Blues\" (also known as \"How Long Blues\" or \"How Long How Long\") is a blues song recorded by the American blues duo Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell in 1928. It became an early blues standard and its melody inspired many later songs.\n\nOriginal song\n\"How Long, How Long Blues\" is based on \"How Long Daddy\", recorded in 1925 by Ida Cox with Papa Charlie Jackson. On June 19, 1928, Leroy Carr, who sang and played piano, and guitarist Scrapper Blackwell recorded the song in Indianapolis, Indiana, for Vocalion Records, shortly after they began performing together. It is a moderately slow-tempo blues with an eight-bar structure. Carr is credited with the lyrics and music for the song, which uses a departed train as a metaphor for a lover who has left:\n\nCarr's and Blackwell's songs reflected a more urban and sophisticated blues, in contrast to the music of rural bluesmen of the time. Carr's blues were \"expressive and evocative\", although his vocals have also been described as emotionally detached, high-pitched and smooth, with clear diction.\n\n\"How Long, How Long Blues\" was Carr and Scrapwell's biggest hit. They subsequently recorded six more versions of the song (two of them, unissued at the time), as \"How Long, How Long Blues, Part 2\", \"Part 3\", \"How Long Has That Evening Train Been Gone\", \"The New How Long, How Long Blues\", etc. There are considerable variations in the lyrics, but most versions begin with the lyric \"How long, how long, has that evening train been gone?\"\n\nLegacy\n\"How Long, How Long Blues\" became an early blues standard and \"its lilting melody inspired hundreds of later compositions\", including the Mississippi Sheiks' \"Sitting on Top of the World\" and Robert Johnson's \"Come On in My Kitchen\". Although his later style would not suggest it, Muddy Waters recalled that it was the first song he learned to play \"off the Leroy Carr record\".\n\nIn 1988, Carr's \"How Long, How Long Blues\" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in the category \"Classics of Blues Recordings – Singles or Album Tracks\". Blues historian Jim O'Neal commented in the induction statement, \"'How Long, How Long Blues' was a massive hit in the prewar blues era, a song that every blues singer and piano player had to know, and one that has continued to inspire dozens of cover versions.\" In 2012, the song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which \"honor[s] recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance\".\n\nSee also\nList of train songs\n\nReferences\n\nBlues songs\n1928 songs\nGrammy Hall of Fame Award recipients\nVocalion Records singles\nSongs about trains",
"Tarzan's Tonsillitis (original title: La amigdalitis de Tarzán, 1999) is an epistolary novel from the Peruvian writer Alfredo Bryce.\n\nPlot summary\nIt is about the romance between Fernanda and Juan Manuel del Carpio. It tells how life can pass and they keep in touch through the years only by mail. They meet sometimes in different cities of America and Europe but they never stay together for long. So they keep writing each other.\n\nSpanish-language books\nEpistolary novels\nPeruvian novels\n1999 novels"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,",
"How many passed as children?",
"I don't know.",
"Did he marry?",
"In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia",
"Did he father children with her?",
"By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children.",
"How long were they together?",
"the two remained devoted to each other to the end,"
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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Did he have other family?
| 8 |
Did Robert Stewart have other family, besides his father and mother?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
British people of the Napoleonic Wars
British politicians who committed suicide
British Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland
British duellists
Fellows of the Royal Society
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with mental disorders
Irish MPs 1790–1797
Irish MPs 1798–1800
Irish politicians who committed suicide
Irish Presbyterians
Knights of the Garter
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2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
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People educated at The Royal School, Armagh
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Political history of Ireland
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Londonderry, M2
Robert
| true |
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"Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah was one of the sahaba, and was sent by Muhammad with a letter to Muqawqis, an Egyptian Coptic Christian official. He returned with gifts, including two slaves, Maria al-Qibtiyya and her sister Sirin. Muhammad took Maria as his wife.\n\nA veteran of the Battle of Badr, it was discovered that he had sent a secret letter to the Quraish detailing Muhammad's movements. When confronted, he begged for understanding explaining that he had only hoped the Quraysh tribe would help protect his family who were residing in Mecca in return, because unlike other Sahabi his family did not have security as he did not have any blood ties with the Quraysh. While Umar ibn Khattab sought the Muhammad's permission to kill Balta'ah, Muhammad said that it was unnecessary, as God may have forgiven all veterans of Badr, and knew the sincerity of his heart.\n\nReferences\n\nhttp://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/letters.html\n\nCompanions of the Prophet",
", son of Konoe Iehiro and adopted son of Takatsukasa Kanehiro, was a kugyō or Japanese court noble of the Edo period (1603–1868). He did not hold regent positions sesshō and kampaku. He and his wife did not have a son, but they adopted one Hisasuke.\n\nReferences\n \n\n1710 births\n1730 deaths\nFujiwara clan\nTakatsukasa family"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,",
"How many passed as children?",
"I don't know.",
"Did he marry?",
"In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia",
"Did he father children with her?",
"By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children.",
"How long were they together?",
"the two remained devoted to each other to the end,",
"Did he have other family?",
"The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army."
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
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How long did they care for him?
| 9 |
How long did Robert Stewart and Amerlia Hobart care for the young Frederick Stewart?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
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Robert
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"Hard Promises is a 1992 American romantic comedy film directed by Martin Davidson. It stars Sissy Spacek and William Petersen.\n\nPlot\nA man who dislikes stable work environments has been away for too many years when he finds out that his wife had divorced him and is planning to remarry. He comes home to confront her, trying to persuade her not to get married, aided by their daughter, who loves him despite his wandering ways. The couple finds out they still have feelings for each other but must decide how best to handle the contradiction of their lifestyles.\n\nCast\n\nCritical reception\nVincent Canby of The New York Times did not care for the film but did praise some of the actors:\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1991 films\n1990s romantic comedy films\nAmerican films\nAmerican romantic comedy films\nColumbia Pictures films\nEnglish-language films\nFilms directed by Martin Davidson\nFilms scored by George S. Clinton\nFilms set in Texas\nFilms shot in Texas\n1991 comedy films",
"Long-term care insurance (LTC or LTCI) is an insurance product, sold in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada that helps pay for the costs associated with long-term care. Long-term care insurance covers care generally not covered by health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid.\n\nIndividuals who require long-term care are generally not sick in the traditional sense but are unable to perform two of the six activities of daily living (ADLs) such as dressing, bathing, eating, toileting, continence, transferring (getting in and out of a bed or chair), and walking.\n\nAge is not a determining factor in needing long-term care. About 70 percent of individuals over 65 will require at least some type of long-term care services during their lifetime. About 40% of those receiving long-term care today are between 18 and 64. Once a change of health occurs, long-term care insurance may not be available. Early onset (before 65) Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease occur rarely.\n\nLong-term care is an issue because people are living longer. As people age, many times they need help with everyday activities of daily living or require supervision due to severe cognitive impairment. That impacts women even more since they often live longer than men and, by default, become caregivers to others.\n\nBenefits\n\nLong-term care insurance can cover home care, assisted living, adult daycare, respite care, hospice care, nursing home, Alzheimer's facilities, and home modification to accommodate disabilities. If home care coverage is purchased, long-term care insurance can pay for home care, often from the first day it is needed. It will pay for a visiting or live-in caregiver, companion, housekeeper, therapist or private duty nurse up to seven days a week, 24 hours a day up to the policy benefit maximum. Many experts suggest shopping between the ages of 45 and 55 as part of an overall retirement plan to protect assets from the high costs and burdens of extended health care.\n\nOther benefits of long-term care insurance:\n\n Many individuals may feel uncomfortable relying on their children or family members for support, and find that long-term care insurance could help cover out-of-pocket expenses. Without long-term care insurance, the cost of providing these services may quickly deplete the savings of the individual and/or their family. The costs of long-term care differ by region. The U.S. government has an interactive map to estimate the costs by state.\n Premiums paid on a long-term care insurance product may be eligible for an income tax deduction. The amount of the deduction depends on the age of the covered person. Benefits paid from a long-term care contract are generally excluded from income. Some states also have deductions or credits and proceeds are always tax-free.\n Business deductions of premiums are determined by the type of business. Generally corporations paying premiums for an employee are 100% deductible if not included in employee's taxable income.\n\nIn the United States, Medicaid will provide long-term care services for the poor or those who spend-down assets because of care and exhaust their assets. In most states, you must spend down to $2000. If there is a living spouse/partner they may keep an additional amount.\n\nA welfare program, Medicaid does provide medically necessary services for people with limited resources who \"need nursing home care but can stay at home with special community care services.\"\nHowever, Medicaid generally does not cover long-term care provided in a home setting or for assisted living. People who need long-term care often prefer care in the home or in a private room in an assisted living facility.\n\nTypes of policies\n\nPrivate long-term care (LTC) insurance is growing in popularity in the United States. Premiums, however, have risen dramatically in recent years even for existing policyholders. Coverage costs can be expensive, when consumers wait until retirement age to purchase LTC coverage.\n\nAs they relate to U.S. policies, two types of long-term care policies offered are:\n\n Traditional policies are the most common policies offered. Traditional policy premiums, like automobile insurance premiums, are paid on a continual basis. If unused, no premiums are returned. However, if the policy has a \"return of premium\" rider, a death benefit will be paid to a beneficiary if the insured dies at a time when benefits received under the policy are less than the premiums paid to the insurer. The amount of the benefit is equal to the excess of premiums paid over benefits received.\n Combination or hybrid policies are a combination of life insurance or an annuity with long term care insurance. Several varieties of these combinations exist. \n\nAs they relate to U.S. income tax, two types of long-term care policies offered are:\n\n Tax qualified (TQ) policies are the most common policies offered. A TQ policy requires that a person 1) be expected to require care for at least 90 days, and be unable to perform 2 or more activities of daily living (eating, dressing, bathing, transferring, toileting, continence) without substantial assistance (hands-on or standby); or 2) for at least 90 days, need substantial assistance due to a severe cognitive impairment. In either case, a doctor must provide a plan of care. Benefits from a TQ policy are non-taxable.\n Non-tax qualified (NTQ) was formerly called traditional long-term care insurance. It often includes a \"trigger\" called a \"medical necessity\" trigger. This means that the patient's own doctor, or that doctor in conjunction with someone from the insurance company, can state that the patient needs care for any medical reason and the policy will pay. NTQ policies include walking as an activity of daily living and usually only require the inability to perform 1 or more activity of daily living. The Treasury Department has not clarified the status of benefits received under a non-qualified long-term care insurance plan. Therefore, the taxability of these benefits is open to further interpretation. This means that it is possible that individuals who receive benefits under a non-qualified long-term care insurance policy risk facing a large tax bill for these benefits.\n\nFewer non-tax qualified policies are available for sale. One reason is that consumers want to be eligible for the tax deductions available when buying a tax-qualified policy. The tax issues can be more complex than the issue of deductions alone, and it is advisable to seek good counsel on all the pros and cons of a tax-qualified policy versus a non-tax-qualified policy, since the benefit triggers on a good non-tax-qualified policy are better. By law, tax-qualified policies carry restrictions on when the policy holder can receive benefits. One survey found that sixty-five percent of purchasers did not know whether or not the policy they bought was tax qualified.\n\nOnce a person purchases a policy, the language cannot be changed by the insurance company, and the policy usually is guaranteed renewable for life. It can never be canceled by the insurance company for health reasons, but can be canceled for non-payment.\n\nMost benefits are paid on a reimbursement basis and a few companies offer indemnity-based per-diem benefits at a higher rate. Most policies cover care only in the continental United States. Policies that cover care in select foreign countries usually only cover nursing care and do so at a rated benefit.\n\nGroup policies may have provisions for non-restricted or open enrollment periods and underwriting may be required. Group plans may or may not be guaranteed renewable or tax qualified. Some group plans include language allowing the insurance company to replace the policy with a similar policy and to change the premiums at that time. Some group plans can be canceled by the insurance company. To compensate for the higher insurance risk group plans may have higher deductibles and lower benefits than individual plans. Some group plans have a 3 ADL (activities of daily living) requirement for nursing care.\n\nThe Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates.\n\nRetirement systems such as CalPERS may offer long-term care insurance similar to a group plan. These organizations are not regulated by the state insurance departments. They can increase rates and make changes to policies without state scrutiny and approval.\n\nLong-term care insurance rates are determined by six main factors: the person's age, the daily (or monthly) benefit, how long the benefits pay, the elimination period, inflation protection, and the health rating (preferred, standard, sub-standard). Most companies will offer couples and multi-life discounts on individual policies. Some companies define \"couples\" not only to spouses, but also to two people who meet criteria for living together in a committed relationship and sharing basic living expenses. The average age of purchasers has dropped from 68 years in 1990 to 61 years in 2005, and the number of purchasers who are under age 65 has increased significantly.\n\nMost companies offer multiple premium payment modes: annual, semi-annual, quarterly, and monthly. Companies may add a percentage for more frequent payment than annual. Options such as spousal survivorship, non-forfeiture, restoration of benefits and return of premium are available with most plans.\n\nThe Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 makes Partnership plans available to all states. Partnership provides \"lifetime asset protection\" from the Medicaid spend-down requirement. As of March 2014, 41 states had active Long Term Care Insurance Partnership programs.\n\nBenefit eligibility and deductibles\n\nMost policies pay benefits when the policyholder needs help with two or more of six ADLs or when a cognitive impairment is present. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services all tax-qualified long-term care insurance plans have the same trigger.\n\nMost policies have an elimination period or waiting period similar to a deductible. This is the period of time that you pay for care before your benefits are paid. Elimination days may be from 30 to 120 days after a long-term care incident, such as a fall or illness. Some policies require intended claimants to provide proof of 30 to 120 service days of paid care before any benefits will be paid. In some cases, the option may be available to select zero elimination days when covered services are provided in the home in accordance with a Plan of Care. A policyholder can select a maximum daily or monthly benefit. This is the maximum the insurance company will pay toward care on either a daily or monthly basis\n\nLTC riders in Canada\n\nLTC Insurance riders generally available in Canadian policies include:\n\n ROPD – Return of premium on death. Your premiums are returned to your estate.\n Protection from inflation – Policy benefit grows at a set rate of return.\n\nLTCi in Germany\n\nIn Germany there are two different kinds of care insurance: mandatory care insurance and voluntary, private care insurance. The German laws oblige the people to have a basic care insurance. It is one of five mandatory insurances, the others are health, accident, unemployment and pension insurance. As usual in the German public insurance system costs are evenly split between employers and employees.\n\nThere are three types of private care insurance:\n\n1. The most expensive form of private care insurance is like a life insurance. It pays you a monthly pension when the insured needs to be taken care of, no matter what the care actually costs. When making the contract you can choose how much the insurance pays each month, depending on the care level.\n\n2. Another form of private care insurance pays a certain percentage of the actual cost after the mandatory care insurance has paid. Here you can decide on the percentage that is being paid, depending on the care level. The advantage of this type of insurance is that it pays more money when the care costs more, so the risk of raised prices is lower for the insured.\n\n3. The most common type of private care insurance pays a certain amount of money for each day where the insured is being taken care of.\n\nLTCi in the United States\n\nSome 7 million individuals have some form of long-term care insurance. The vast majority have what is referred to as traditional, or health-based, LTC insurance. The opposite is true for new policy sales. Some 350,000 new policies are sold each year with 84 percent being linked-benefit or life insurance policies that include a LTC benefit.\n\nIn the U.S., the nation's long-term care insurance companies paid out a record $11 billion in claims in 2019 to some 310,000 policyholders.\n\nA new study projects that the lifetime chance of long-term care insurance policy usage. Someone purchasing coverage at age 65 has a 50% likelihood of using their policy benefits, especially when there is no elimination period for home care benefits.\n\nSee also\nActivities of daily living\nCLASS Act\nContinuing Care Retirement Community\nHealth insurance in the United States\nLong Term Care Benefit Plan\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n What to look for in a LTC policy from Consumer Reports (February 2011)\n U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Long Term Care information\n American Association for Long Term Care Insurance - AALTCI\n National Institute on Health\n National Association of Insurance Commissions LTC Section\n US Department of Health & Human Services Aging, Caregiving & LTC\n Medicaid Eligibility\n\nCaregiving\nElderly care\nHealth insurance\nMedicare and Medicaid (United States)"
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"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,",
"How many passed as children?",
"I don't know.",
"Did he marry?",
"In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia",
"Did he father children with her?",
"By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children.",
"How long were they together?",
"the two remained devoted to each other to the end,",
"Did he have other family?",
"The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.",
"How long did they care for him?",
"while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army."
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Did he have cousins?
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Did Robert Stewart have cousins?
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Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
British people of the Napoleonic Wars
British politicians who committed suicide
British Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland
British duellists
Fellows of the Royal Society
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with mental disorders
Irish MPs 1790–1797
Irish MPs 1798–1800
Irish politicians who committed suicide
Irish Presbyterians
Knights of the Garter
Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Politicians from County Dublin
People educated at The Royal School, Armagh
People of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Political history of Ireland
Stewart
Ulster Scots people
UK MPs 1801–1802
UK MPs 1802–1806
UK MPs 1806–1807
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs 1812–1818
UK MPs 1818–1820
UK MPs 1820–1826
Londonderry, M2
Robert
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[
"Gregory Cousins (born 1964), of Tampa, Florida, was third mate at the time of Exxon Valdez oil spill. He was left in control of the vessel, but failed to maneuver it to the required lane, when it struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. Cousins had a Coast Guard license to command the ship in most waters, but did not have the special endorsement that was required for Prince William Sound.\n\nReferences\n\nPeople from Tampa, Florida\nExxon Valdez oil spill\n1964 births\nLiving people\nExxonMobil people",
"Scott Michael Cousins (born January 22, 1985) is an American retired professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida / Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2010 through 2013.\n\nAmateur career\nCousins, at 6'1\" and 197 lbs, attended North Valleys High School in Reno, Nevada ('03) where he was a standout in both baseball and basketball.\n\nAs a sophomore at the University of San Francisco in 2005, Cousins batted .309 with 30 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and 7 home runs. On the mound, he went 8–5 with a 2.64 ERA and 76 strikeouts.\n\nIn 2006, as a junior, Cousins hit .343 with 46 RBIs, 21 stolen bases, and 7 home runs for the Dons. He also won 4 games striking out 61 batters. For his performance, Cousins was named a first-team All-American and the 2006 West Coast Conference Player of the Year. Cousins' play helped the Dons win their first WCC title and make an inaugural trip to the NCAA Regionals.\n\nProfessional career\n\nFlorida / Miami Marlins\nCousins was drafted by the Marlins in the third round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.\n\nIn 2007, for Class A Greensboro (SAL), Cousins hit .292 with 18 home runs, 74 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases. He earned \"MiLB.com Class A Best Single-Game Performer honors when he slugged three home runs and drove in a career-high nine RBIs on Aug. 22 against Hickory ... stroked a game-tying two-run homer, launched a grand slam, the first of his career, an inning later, and finished his day with a three-run drive in the eighth.\"\n\nIn 2008, as a member of the Mesa Solar Sox, Cousins led the Arizona Fall League in RBIs with 33 and hit .297 with 6 home runs. In 2009 for the Jacksonville Suns, Cousins batted .263 with 74 RBIs, 12 home runs, 27 stolen bases, and led all AA with 11 triples (also setting a Marlins' minor league record). Cousins was added to the Marlins' 40 man roster following the 2009 season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.\n\nCousins hit .285 with 14 home runs, 49 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases for the New Orleans Zephyrs in the Class AAA Pacific Coast League before being called up to the major leagues on September 2, 2010. Cousins recorded his first hit, a walk-off single, against the Atlanta Braves on September 5, 2010. Regarding Cousins' call up, USF head coach Nino Giarratano stated, \"Academically, athletically and personally he is most deserving of the opportunity and a lifetime of opportunities in Major League Baseball.\"\n\nOn September 24 and 25, Scott Cousins became the first major leaguer since Willie McGee in 1982 to record back-to-back pinch hit triples when he hit three baggers against the Brewers at Miller Park. On April 21, 2011, Cousins hit his first career home run, a grand slam off James McDonald of the Pittsburgh Pirates.\n\nOn May 25, 2011, during a game against the San Francisco Giants, Cousins collided with catcher Buster Posey at home plate after tagging up from third base on a sacrifice fly from Emilio Bonifacio. Posey sustained a broken fibula and three torn ligaments in his left ankle, causing him to miss the rest of the season. Cousins said he hit Posey on purpose so that he could score. \"If you go in first feet and slide they punish you. If you hit them, you punish them and you punish yourself, but you have a chance of that ball coming out.\" While Cousins maintained that he did not intend to injure Posey, many others disagreed, and argued that Cousins hit Posey with the intention of hurting him.This collision led to MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association to agree to a new rule intended to limit home plate collisions.\n\nOn June 15, 2012, Cousins was called up to the majors. Two days later, on June 17, Cousins made his first start as a Marlin since being called up. He went 3 for 7 against the Tampa Bay Rays, including a game-winning RBI triple in the 15th inning.\n\nToronto Blue Jays\nOn October 17, 2012, Cousins was claimed on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays after being designated for assignment by the Marlins.\n\nSeattle Mariners\nOn November 1, Cousins was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays and was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners 5 days later. On November 20, The Mariners designated him for assignment.\n\nLos Angeles Angels\nThe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim claimed Cousins on November 30, 2012. He was designated for assignment on May 18, 2013. He was later re-signed and sent to Salt Lake. With two teams that minor league season, Cousins has hit .242, with 3 doubles, 5 triples, 1 home run, and 19 RBIs to go along with 6 stolen bases.\n\nTexas Rangers\nCousins signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox in January 2014. He was released on March 29, 2014. On April 16, 2014, Cousins signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.\n\nRetirement\nCousins signed with the Somerset Patriots for the 2015 season. Cousins then retired on July 7, 2015.\n\nPost-playing career\nIn , Cousins became an area scout based in Scottsdale, Arizona, for the Oakland Athletics.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n\n1985 births\nLiving people\nArizona League Angels players\nBaseball players from Nevada\nCarolina Mudcats players\nFlorida Marlins players\nGreensboro Grasshoppers players\nGulf Coast Marlins players\nJacksonville Suns players\nJamestown Jammers players\nJupiter Hammerheads players\nLos Angeles Angels players\nMajor League Baseball outfielders\nMesa Solar Sox players\nMiami Marlins players\nNew Orleans Zephyrs players\nOakland Athletics scouts\nSportspeople from Sparks, Nevada\nSalt Lake Bees players\nSan Francisco Dons baseball players\nSomerset Patriots players\nNorth Valleys High School alumni"
] |
[
"Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh",
"Family",
"What were his parents like?",
"The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789,",
"And his mother?",
"Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway,",
"Did he have other siblings?",
"By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood,",
"How many passed as children?",
"I don't know.",
"Did he marry?",
"In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia",
"Did he father children with her?",
"By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children.",
"How long were they together?",
"the two remained devoted to each other to the end,",
"Did he have other family?",
"The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.",
"How long did they care for him?",
"while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.",
"Did he have cousins?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_637d4247c9454fea91096c0c3d3877f8_1
|
Was he close with any of his siblings?
| 11 |
Was Robert Stewart close with any of his siblings?
|
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh
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Robert Stewart was born in Henry Street, Dublin, Ireland, in 1769 the son of Robert Stewart (1739-1821) of Newtownards and Comber in County Down, with properties in Counties Donegal and Londonderry. The family seat was Mount Stewart, County Down. The elder Stewart was an Irish politician and prominent Ulster landowner He was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III. In 1771 he was elected in the Whig interest to the Irish House of Commons, where he was a supporter of Lord Charlemont and his allies who called for greater independence from Britain. From the Act of Union of 1800, however, he sat in the British House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was created Marquess of Londonderry by the Prince Regent. Stewart's mother, who died in childbirth when he was a year old, was Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway, daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford (a former British Ambassador to France (1764-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765-66)) and Isabella Fitzroy, daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton. His father remarried five years later to Lady Frances Pratt, daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714-94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both the 1st Earl of Chatham and his son, William Pitt the Younger. Through the elder Stewart's marriages, he linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of both him and his elder son. By Frances Pratt, Stewart's father had ten children who survived to adulthood, including Stewart's half-brother, Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822). In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762-65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776-80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, the aristocratic rebel Lord Edward FitzGerald, was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army. CANNOTANSWER
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Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician and statesman. As secretary to the Viceroy of Ireland, he worked to suppress the Rebellion of 1798 and to secure passage in 1800 of the Irish Act of Union. As the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom from 1812, he was central to the management of the coalition that defeated Napoleon, and was British plenipotentiary at the Congress of Vienna. In the post-war government of Lord Liverpool, Castlereagh was seen to support harsh measures against agitation for reform. Taking his own life, he died in office in 1822.
Early in his career in Ireland, and following a visit to revolutionary France, Castlereagh recoiled from the democratic politics of his Presbyterian constituents in Ulster. Crossing the floor of the Irish Commons in support of the government, he took a leading role in detaining members of the republican conspiracy, the United Irishmen, his former political associates among them. After the 1798 Rebellion, as Chief Secretary for Ireland he pushed the Act of Union through the Irish Parliament. But it was without the Catholic Emancipation that both he and British Prime Minister William Pitt believed should have accompanied the creation of a United Kingdom.
From 1804 Castlereagh served under Pitt and then the Duke of Portland as Secretary of State for War. In 1809 he was obliged to resign after fighting a duel with the Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in a dispute over the Walcheren Expedition. In 1812 Castlereagh returned to government serving Lord Liverpool as Foreign Secretary and as Leader of the House of Commons.
Castlereagh organised and financed the alliance that defeated Napoleon, bringing the powers together at the Treaty of Chaumont in 1814. After Napoleon's second abdication in 1815, Castlereagh worked with the European courts represented at the Congress of Vienna to frame the territorial, and broadly conservative, continental order that was to hold until mid century. He blocked harsh terms against France believing that a treaty based on vengeance and retaliation would upset a necessary balance of powers. France was restored to the frontiers of 1791, and her British-occupied colonies were returned. In 1820 Castlereagh enunciated a policy of non-intervention, proposing that Britain hold herself aloof from continental affairs.
After 1815, at home Castlereagh supported repressive measures that linked him in public opinion to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. Widely reviled in both Ireland and Great Britain, overworked, and personally distressed, Castlereagh committed suicide in 1822.
His biographer John Bew writes:
No British statesman of the 19th century reached the same level of international influence....But very few have been so maligned by their own countrymen and so abused in history. This shy and handsome Ulsterman is perhaps the most hated domestic political figure in both modern British and Irish political history.
Early life and career in Ireland
Robert was born on 18 June 1769 in 28 Henry Street, in Dublin's Northside. He was the second and only surviving child of Robert Stewart (the elder) and his wife Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway. His parents married in 1766.
The Stewarts
The Stewarts had been a Scottish family settled in Donegal whose fortunes had been transformed by the marriage of Castlereagh's grandfather Alexander Stewart to an East India Company heiress. The legacy from Robert Cowan, the former Governor of Bombay, allowed for the purchase of extensive properties in north Down including the future family demesne, Mount Stewart, on the shores of Strangford Lough.
As a Presbyterian (a "Dissenter"), rather than a member of the established Anglican Communion (the Church of Ireland), Castlereagh's father, Robert Stewart, had an easy reputation as a friend of reform. In 1771, and again in 1776, he was elected from County Down to the Irish House of Commons. In 1778 he joined the Irish Volunteer movement, raising and armed and drilled company from his estates. In parliament and among the Volunteers, he was a friend and supporter of Lord Charlemont and his policy. This favoured Volunteer agitation for the independence of Ireland's Acendancy parliament, but not for its reform and not for Catholic emancipation.
In 1798, the elder Robert Stewart was created Baron Londonderry in 1789, Viscount Castlereagh in 1795, and Earl of Londonderry in 1796 by King George III, enabling him from the Act of Union of 1800 onwards to sit at Westminster in the House of Lords as an Irish representative peer. In 1816 he was elevated to Marquess of Londonderry
Young Robert's mother died in childbirth when he was a year old. Lady Sarah Frances Seymour-Conway had been the daughter of Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford and Isabella Fitzroy. Lord Hertford was a former British Ambassador to France (1764–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1765–66). Isabella Fitzroy was a daughter of Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton.
Five years later his father married Lady Frances Pratt, the independent-minded daughter of Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden (1714–94), a leading English jurist and prominent political supporter of both William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his son, William Pitt the Younger. The marriages of the elder Robert Stewart linked his family with the upper ranks of English nobility and political elites. The Camden connection was to be especially important for the political careers of the older and the younger Robert Stewart. By Frances Pratt, his father's second wife, young Robert had eleven half-siblings, including his half-brother Charles William Stewart (later Vane), Baron Stewart of Stewart's Court and Ballylawn in County Donegal (1814) and 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (1822).
Education
The younger Robert Stewart suffered from recurring health problems throughout his childhood, and was sent to The Royal School, Armagh, rather than to England for his secondary education. At the encouragement of Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, who took a great interest in him and treated him as if he had been a grandson by blood, he later attended St. John's College, Cambridge (1786–87), where he applied himself with greater diligence than expected from an aristocrat and excelled in his first-year examinations. But he then withdrew, pleading an illness that he admitted to Camden was something "which cannot be directly acknowledged before women", i.e. something sexually transmitted.
Independent MP
In the summer of 1790, Stewart was elected as a Member of the Irish Parliament for his family's Down constituency. In county with an exceptionally large number of enfranchised freeholders, his campaign pitted him in a popular contest against the nominees of the county's established Ascendancy families, and on that basis alone he won the sympathy and support of Belfast's Northern Whig Club. But it was his conscious strategy to capitalise on strong Volunteer and reform sentiments.
In a letter to the Belfast Newsletter he declared for parliamentary reform (reform that would have abolished the pocket boroughs that allowed Ascendancy families, in addition to their presence in the House of Lords, to control seats in the Commons). In doing so, he won the support of many who, later despairing of parliamentary "patriots", were to enter the ranks of the United Irishmen.
In the House of Commons Stewart spurned an offer of a place in government and sat as an independent. But otherwise he made little impression and was judged a poor speaker.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
In July 1791, having both read Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke (a family friend) and learned that in Belfast Irish Volunteers were preparing to celebrate Bastille Day, Stewart decided to judge events in France for himself. In Spa in the Austrian Netherlands he had difficulty in empathising with the wholly reactionary outlook of the French emigres. But after passing into France in November, he conceded that while he did not "like" the government of Ireland, "I prefer it to a revolution".
Stewart was not convinced of Burke's contention that the revolution would produce a French Cromwell, although he recognised that outside Paris the principles of liberty were not as entrenched. As the revolutionary factions, the Jacobins and Girondins, struggled to supremacy in the capital, it was "the nation at large" that would "ultimately decide between them".
In "an early example of [his] scepticism about foreign intervention", Stewart argued it was beyond her neighbours to give government to France. The Austrian Emperor might march his troops to Paris, but unless he was prepared to keep them there the Ancien Régime restored would again collapse.
Stewart returned to the Austrian Netherlands in the autumn of 1792, but was unable to cross the now military frontlines into France. However news of the Jacobin triumph in Paris, and, following her victory at Valmy, the prospect of France carrying defence of the revolution beyond her frontiers, convinced him that "it would not be long before he had to face his own 'Jacobins' in Ireland".
When in 1793 he returned to the parliament in Dublin, Stewart spoke in favour of the Catholic Relief Bill. In doing so he was supporting the policy of British Prime Minister William Pitt.who determined that Catholic opinion be concilated in preparation for the impending war with the new, anti-clericalist, French Republic. Stewart, while calling for the removal of their remaining civil disabilities, did stop short of endorsing the bill's extension to Catholics of the (limited) franchise. However, his loyalty to Pitt now seemed unconditional.
In 1794, partly as a result of the promotion of Stewart's interests by his Camden connections, Stewart was offered the Government-controlled seat of Tregony in Cornwall. In 1796, he transferred to a seat for the Suffolk constituency of Orford, which was in the interest of his mother's family, the Seymour-Conways (Marquess of Hertford). He held these seats simultaneously with his county seat in Ireland.
Marriage
In 1794, Stewart married Amelia (Emily) Hobart, a daughter of John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, a former British Ambassador to Russia (1762–65) and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (1776–80). Her mother, Caroline Conolly, was the granddaughter of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons in the early 18th century and one of the wealthiest landowners in Ireland. Caroline's brother, Thomas Conolly, was married to Louisa Lennox, sister of Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, whose son and Emily's cousin-by-marriage, Lord Edward FitzGerald was a leader of the United Irishmen and one of their martyrs in the early stages of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Emily Stewart was well known as a hostess for her husband in both Ireland and London and during some of his most important diplomatic missions. In later years she was a leader of Regency London high society as one of the Lady Patronesses of Almack's. She is noted in contemporary accounts for her attractiveness, volubility and eccentricities. By all accounts, the two remained devoted to each other to the end, but they had no children. The couple did, however, care for the young Frederick Stewart, while his father, Stewart's half-brother, Charles, was serving in the army.
Chief Secretary for Ireland
Suppression of the United Irishmen
In 1795, Pitt replaced as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, William Fitzwilliam, who had urged that the emancipation of Catholic be completed with their admission to parliament, with Stewart's uncle, the 2nd Earl Camden. Camden's arrival in Dublin was greeted with riots, and that year Stewart crossed the floor of the Irish House of Commons to join the supporters of the government, the Dublin Castle executive. Stewart became an essential adviser to the inexperienced and unpopular Lord Lieutenant, who was Stewart's senior by only ten years.
In August 1796 Stewart's father was elevated to the title Earl of Londonderry. As his son, Stewart was henceforth styled Viscount Castlereagh.
In September, acting upon evidence of communication with the French, Castlereagh personally led troops in a series of raids in Belfast and its environs (the "Siege of Belfast") that netted leading members of the United Irishmen. Among them were men who had supported him in the election of 1790. Originating in Belfast among Presbyterian celebrants of the American and French revolutions, the republican conspiracy had spread rapidly in Ulster and, in league with the Catholic Defenders across the Irish midlands. In County Down, Castlereagh's father had difficulty in raising a loyalist yoemanry among his tenants and eventually, with all rent withheld, Mount Stewart was placed under armed guard.
In December 1796, a large French expedition to Ireland failed to effect a landing at Bantry Bay, but due only to contrary winds. As an officer in the militia, Castlereagh was well apprised of lack of preparedness to meet a combination of professional French soldiery and the countrywide insurgency it would likely trigger.
In February 1797, Castlereagh was at last appointed to the Dublin Castle administration as Keeper of the King's Signet for Ireland. Following a declaration of martial law he was made both a Lord of the Treasury and a Member of the Privy Council of Ireland (1797–1800). At the urging of Camden, Castlereagh assumed many of the onerous duties of the often-absent Chief Secretary for Ireland who was responsible for day-to-day administration and asserting the influence of Dublin Castle in the House of Commons. In this capacity, and after March 1798 as Acting Chief Secretary, Castlereagh played a key role in crushing the United Irish rising when it came in May and June 1798.
In November 1798, Castlereagh was formally appointed to the office of Chief Secretary by Camden's successor, Lord Cornwallis.
Executions of William Orr and James Porter
Castlereagh's general policy was to offer immediate clemency to the rebel rank-and-file (many of whom were then inducted into the yeomanry) while focusing on the politically committed leadership. But already before the rebellion he had begun to earn the sobriquet "Bloody Castlereagh".
In October 1797 his step mother, Lady Frances, had petitioned Camden for the life of William Orr. On a charge of administering the United Irish test to two soldiers, Orr had been named on the same warrant that Castlereagh had used in the roundup of the previous September. The judge reportedly broke down in tears as he read the death sentence which the popular journalist Peter Finnerty credited to Castlereagh's insistence on making an example in the face of the growing French fever. (In 1811, Castlereagh successfully had Finnerty convicted for libel).
After the rebellion (during which Mount Stewart was briefly occupied), Castlrereagh was content that leading United Irishmen in the Presbyterian north be allowed American exile. Exception was made in the case of the James Porter, executed (again despite the entreaties of Lady Frances) following a court martial before Castlereagh's father, Lord Londonderry. Porter, who had been his family's Presbyterian minister and, in 1790, his election agent, had become a household name in Ulster as the author of a satire of the county gentry, Billy Bluff, in which Londonderry was serially lampooned as an inarticulate tyrant.
The Act of Union and the promise of Emancipation
In 1799, in furtherance of both his own political vision and Pitt's policies, Castlereagh began lobbying in the Irish and British Parliaments for a union that would incorporate Ireland with Great Britain in a United Kingdom. In addition to security against the French, Castlereagh saw the principal merit of a bringing Ireland directly under the Crown in the Westminster Parliament as a resolution of what ultimately was the key issue for the governance of the country, the Catholic question. "Linked with England", he reasoned that "the Protestants, feeling less exposed, would be more confident and liberal", while Catholics, reduced to a minority within the larger kingdom, would lower their expectations and moderate their demands.
During the campaign for the Act of Union, both Castlereagh and Cornwallis had, in good faith, forwarded informal assurances they had received from Pitt's Cabinet to the Irish Catholics that they would be allowed to sit in the new United Kingdom Parliament. However, opposition in England, and not least from the King, George III, obliged Castlereagh to defy what he saw as "the very logic of the Union." The Union bill that, with a generous distribution of titles and favours, he helped put through the Irish Parliament omitted the provision for Catholic emancipation. A separate Irish executive in Dublin was retained, but representation, still wholly Protestant, was transferred to Westminster constituted as the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Pitt had tried to follow through on his commitment, but when it came to light that the King had approached Henry Addington, an opponent of Catholic emancipation, about becoming Prime Minister to replace him, both Castlereagh and Pitt resigned. Castlereagh would long be held personally responsible by many Catholics in Ireland for the breach of promise and the British Government's failure to remove their remaining political disabilities.
Loss of his home constituency
While in Dublin, Castlereagh had been a member of the Kildare Street Club, which was at the heart of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy. The Ascendancy, however, was not quick to forgive Castlereagh for the loss of their parliament. In 1805 the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire, broke her family's electoral truce with the Stewarts in County Down and forced Castlereagh to defend his (now Westminster) parliamentary seat. Despite the prestige of a new cabinet position in London, Castlereagh was defeated in a campaign marked by repeated aspersions on his failure to father a child, and by the taunts of those who, otherwise no friends of the Downshires, reminded him of the principles on which he had stood in 1790.
On his return to London, the Treasury found him an alternative English seat, Boroughbridge, a government controlled rotten borough. Having conciliated the Downshires and able to ride the victories of Arthur Wellesley (future Duke of Wellington), the reputed Ulsterman he had appointed to command in the Peninsular War, in 1812 Castlereagh avenged his humiliation, and recovered the family seat.
Secretary for War
In the new Parliament of the United Kingdom the tensions within the ruling Tories over Catholic emancipation abated, and after obtaining his desired cessation of hostilities with France (the Peace of Amiens), Henry Addington brought Castlereagh into the Cabinet as President of the Board of Control. He chief task was to mediate the bitter disputes between the Governor-General of India, Richard Wellesley (the brother of Arthur Wellesley) and the Directors of the East India Company, smoothing quarrels while generally supporting Lord Wellesley's policies.
After the renewal of the war against Napoleon, at the urging of Castlereagh and other long-time supporters, in 1804 Pitt returned as Prime Minister, and Castlereagh was promoted to Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
As the only other member of Pitt's cabinet in the House of Commons, Castlereagh became Pitt's political deputy, taking on ever more burdens as Pitt's health continued to decline. After Pitt's death in 1806, Castlereagh resigned amid the chaos of the Ministry of All the Talents. When that Government collapsed, Castlereagh again became Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in 1807, this time in the ministry of the Duke of Portland.
The bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807 and in 1809 (with the Dowager Marchioness of Downshire again manoeuvring against him) the debacle of the Walcheren Expedition, subjected Castlereagh to hostile scrutiny.
Duel with Canning
Foreign Secretary George Canning claimed to have opposed the Walcheren Expedition, to have dismissed the landing on the Dutch coast as an ill-advised, ill-prepared diversion of troops from the Peninsular War. Castlereagh had the support of General Wellesley, and evidence later surfaced that Canning himself had interfered with the plan, selecting the Earl of Chatham to command the expedition. The Portland government became increasingly paralysed by disputes between the two men. Portland was in deteriorating health and gave no lead, until Canning threatened resignation unless Castlereagh was removed. When Castlereagh discovered Canning's terms had been accepted, he challenged the Foreign Secretary to a duel.
The duel was fought on 21 September 1809 on Putney Heath. Canning missed but Castlereagh wounded his opponent in the thigh. There was much outrage that two cabinet ministers had sought to settle their differences in such a manner, and they both felt compelled to resign. Six months later, Canning published a full account of his actions in the affair, but many who had initially rallied to him became convinced Castlereagh had been betrayed by his cabinet colleague.
Foreign Secretary
Three years later, in 1812, Castlereagh returned to the government, this time as Foreign Secretary, a role in which he served for the next ten years. He also became leader of the House of Commons in the wake of Spencer Perceval's assassination in 1812.
Treaty of Chaumont
In his role of Foreign Secretary he was instrumental in negotiating what has become known as the quadruple alliance between Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia at Chaumont in March 1814, in the negotiation of the Treaty of Paris that brought peace with France, and at the Congress of Vienna. The Treaty of Chaumont was part of the final deal offered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814. Napoleon rejected it and it never took effect. However, the key terms reaffirmed decisions that had been made already. These decisions were again ratified and put into effect by the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815. The terms were largely written by Lord Castlereagh, who offered cash subsidies to keep the other armies in the field against Napoleon. Key terms included the establishment of a confederated Germany, the division of Italy into independent states, the restoration of the Bourbon kings of Spain, and the enlargement of the Netherlands to include what in 1830 would become modern Belgium. The treaty of Chaumont became the cornerstone of the European Alliance which formed the balance of power for decades.
Historian G. M. Trevelyan argues:
In 1813 and 1814 Castlereagh played the part that William III and Marlborough had played more than a hundred years before, in holding together an alliance of jealous, selfish, weak-kneed states and princes, by a vigour of character and singleness of purpose that held Metternich, the Czar, and the King of Prussia on the common track until the goal was reached. It is quite possible that, but for the lead taken by Castlereagh in the allied counsels, France would never have been reduced to her ancient limits, nor Napoleon dethroned.
Congress of Vienna
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh designed and proposed a form of collective and collaborative security for Europe, then called a Congress system. In the Congress system, the main signatory powers met periodically (every two years or so) and collectively managed European affairs. This system was used in an attempt to address the Polish-Saxon crisis at Vienna and the question of Greek independence at Laibach. The following ten years saw five European Congresses where disputes were resolved with a diminishing degree of effectiveness. Finally, by 1822, the whole system had collapsed because of the irreconcilable differences of opinion among Britain, Austria, and Russia, and because of the lack of support for the Congress system in British public opinion. The Holy Alliance, which Castlereagh opposed, lingered a little longer. The order created by the Congress of Vienna was a mood that lasted much longer and worked to prevent major European wars until the First World War in 1914. Some scholars and historians have seen the Congress system as a forerunner of the modern collective security, international unity, and cooperative agreements of NATO, the EU, the League of Nations, and the United Nations.
In the years 1812 to 1822, Castlereagh continued to manage Britain's foreign policy, generally pursuing a policy of continental engagement uncharacteristic of British foreign policy in the nineteenth century. Castlereagh was not an effective public speaker and his diplomatic presentation style was at times abstruse. Henry Kissinger says he developed a reputation for integrity, consistency, and goodwill, which was perhaps unmatched by any diplomat of that era.
Abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionist opinion in Britain was strong enough in 1807 to abolish the slave trade in all British possessions—although slavery itself persisted in the colonies until 1833. Abolitionists after 1807 focused on international agreements to abolish the Atlantic slave trade. Castlereagh switched his position and became a strong supporter of the movement. Britain arranged treaties with Portugal, Sweden and Denmark, 1810–1814, whereby they agreed to restrict their trading. These were preliminary to the Congress of Vienna negotiations that Castlereagh dominated and which resulted in a general declaration condemning the slave trade. The problem was that the treaties and declarations were hard to enforce, given the very high profits available to private interests. As Foreign Minister, Castlereagh cooperated with senior officials to use the Royal Navy to detect and capture slave ships; the freed slaves were sent to freedom in a new British colony of Sierra Leone. He used diplomacy to conclude search-and-seize agreements with all the countries whose ships were trading. There was serious friction with the United States, where the southern slave interest was politically powerful. Washington recoiled at British policing of the high seas. Spain, France and Portugal also relied on the international slave trade to supply their colonial plantations. As more and more diplomatic arrangements were made by Castlereagh, the owners of slave ships started flying false flags of nations that had not agreed, especially the United States. It was illegal under American law for American ships to engage in the slave trade, but the idea of Britain enforcing American laws was unacceptable to Washington. Lord Palmerston continued the Castlereagh policies. Eventually, in 1842 in 1845, an arrangement was reached between London and Washington. With the arrival of a staunchly anti-slavery government in Washington in 1861, the Atlantic slave trade was doomed. In the long run, Castlereagh's strategy on how to stifle the trade proved successful.
Nonintervention in European affairs
In May 1820 Castlereagh circulated to high officials a major state paper that set the main British policy for the rest of the century. Temperley and Penson call it, "the most famous State Paper in British history and the one of the widest ultimate consequences." Castlereagh called for no British intervention in continental affairs. He argued that the purpose of the Quadruple Alliance was to contain France and put down revolutions. But the Spanish revolt did not threaten European peace nor any of the great powers. Castlereagh said that in actual practice the powers would seldom be able to agree on concerted action, and he pointed out that British public opinion would not support interventions. He admitted that individual states could indeed intervene in affairs in their recognized sphere of interest, such as Austria's intervention in Italy.
Lampooning by Thomas Moore
As a press, or squib, writer for the Whigs, Thomas Moore, better remembered as Ireland's national bard, mercilessly lampooned Castlereagh. In what were the "verbal equivalents of the political cartoons of the day",Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (1818) and "Fables for the Holy Alliance" (1823), Moore savages Castlereagh's pirouetting with Britain's reactionary continental allies.
Widely read, so that Moore eventually produced a sequel, was his verse novel The Fudge Family in Paris (1818). The family of an Irishman working as a propagandist for Castlereagh in Paris, the Fudges are accompanied by an accomplished tutor and classicist, Phelim Connor. An upright but disillusioned Irish Catholic, his letters to a friend reflect Moore's own views. Connor's regular epistolary denunciations of Castlereagh had two recurrent themes. First is Castlereagh as "the embodiment of the sickness with which Ireland had infected British politics as a consequence of the union": "We sent thee Castlereagh--as heaps of dead Have slain their slayers by the pest they spread". The second is that at the time of the Acts of Union Castlereagh's support for Catholic emancipation had been disingenuous. Castlereagh had been master of "that faithless craft" which can "cart the slave, can swear he shall be freed", but then "basely spurns him" when his "point is gain'd."
This imputation that he had betrayed his country, bloodied his hands in 1798 and deliberately deceived Catholics at the time of the Union, reportedly wounded Castlereagh. Moore learned from a mutual connection that Castlereagh had said that "the humorous and laughing things he did not at all mind, but the verses of the Tutor in the Fudge Family were quite another sort of thing, and were in very bad taste indeed". For openly casting the same aspersions against the former Chief Secretary, in 1811 the London-based Irish publisher, and former United Irishman, Peter Finnerty was sentenced to eighteen months for libel.
Decline and death
Despite his contributions to the defeat of Napoleon and restoration of peace, Castlereagh became extremely unpopular at home. He was attacked in the House of Commons by the Opposition for his support of repressive European governments, while the public resented his role in handling the Commons side of the divorce of George IV and Queen Caroline. He was also condemned for his association with repressive measures of the Home Secretary, Lord Sidmouth (the former Prime Minister Addington). As Leader of the House of Commons for the Liverpool Government, he was often called upon to defend government policy in the House. He had to support the widely reviled measures taken by Sidmouth and the others, including the infamous Six Acts, to remain in cabinet and continue his diplomatic work. For these reasons, Castlereagh appears with other members of Lord Liverpool's Cabinet in Shelley's poem The Masque of Anarchy, which was inspired by, and heavily critical of, the Peterloo Massacre:
I met Murder on the way –
He had a mask like Castlereagh –
Very smooth he looked, yet grim;
Seven bloodhounds followed him.
All were fat; and well they might
Be in admirable plight,
For one by one, and two by two,
He tossed them human hearts to chew
Which from his wide cloak he drew.
After the death of his father in April 1821, which "greatly afflicted him", Castlereagh became the 2nd Marquess of Londonderry. Although ineligible to continue sitting for an Irish constituency, as a non-representative Irish peer he was eligible to sit in the House of Commons for an English seat. Preparations had already been made, and he was able to vacate Down and swiftly win a by-election for his uncle Lord Hertford's borough of Orford (of which he had been an MP between 1796 and 1797). He also stood in good favour with the new King, George IV, who openly proposed to dismiss Lord Liverpool and appoint Castlereagh in his stead. Castlereagh's relations with his colleagues, however, were beginning to break down, possibly under the influence of paranoia. In March 1821, he told his brother he lacked able support on the government benches, and that his parliamentary labours were 'difficult to endure'.
By 1822, he was showing clear signs of a form of paranoia or a nervous breakdown. He was severely overworked with both his responsibilities in leading the government in the House and the never-ending diplomacy required to manage conflicts among the other major powers. His oratory in the House had never been of the highest calibre, but now he was considered to be practically incoherent. He spoke of resigning his office if matters did not improve.
Castlereagh began confessing to what was at the time criminal activity. He had already told his friend Mrs Arbuthnot that he was being blackmailed for an alleged homosexual offence; and at a 9 August meeting with the King, Castlereagh was distracted, said he was being mysteriously watched by a servant, that he had committed all manner of crimes, and remarked, "I am accused of the same crime as the Bishop of Clogher." Percy Jocelyn, who had been the Bishop of Clogher until the previous month, was prosecuted for homosexuality. The King concluded he was unwell, and urged him to rest.
The King then sent a message to Lord Liverpool warning him of Castlereagh's illness; Liverpool initially failed to take the matter seriously and dismissed the message. Later that day, however, Castlereagh met with the Duke of Wellington, his cabinet colleague. Castlereagh behaved much as he had done with the King; Wellington bluntly told Castlereagh he was not in his right mind, advised him to see a doctor, and alerted Castlereagh's personal physician Dr. Charles Bankhead, as well as Castlereagh's friends the Arbuthnots. On the advice of Dr Bankhead, Castlereagh went to his country seat at Woollet Hall in Water Lane, North Cray, Kent, for a weekend stay. He continued to be distressed, ranting wildly about conspiracies and threats to his life, to the concern of his friends and family. No special watch was kept on him, however, his wife saw to it that his pistols and razors were locked away.
Lady Castlereagh wrote to the King informing him that her husband would be unable to continue with official business. The King responded with a note to Castlereagh that his minister did not live to read: "Remember of what importance Your Health is to the Country but above all things to Me".
At about 7:30am on the morning of 12 August 1822 he sent for Bankhead, who found him in a dressing room seconds after he had cut his own throat, using a small knife which had been overlooked. He collapsed when Bankhead entered, and died almost instantly.
Retrospective speculative diagnoses vary. At the time, his brother blamed "the intrigues that were carried on by the women surrounding the king" (the King's mistress, Lady Conyngham, was not on good terms with Castlereagh's wife). George Agar Ellis, on the other hand, concluded Castlereagh was disillusioned by "the nothingness of human grandeurs... the sad effects which disappointment and chagrin may have on a mind in which religion is not uppermost, for I have no doubt that the sad and apparently irretrievable state of affairs in England was the real cause of ... [his] unfortunate state of mind." Later verdicts attribute the problem to overwork and mental stress, or to "a psychotic depressive illness". Other theories link various instances of (at the time) little explained illness to syphilis, possibly contracted at Cambridge.
Reaction to his death
An inquest concluded that the act had been committed while insane, avoiding the harsh strictures of a felo de se verdict. The verdict allowed Lady Londonderry to see her husband buried with honour in Westminster Abbey near his mentor, William Pitt. The pallbearers included the Prime Minister Lord Liverpool, the former Prime Minister Lord Sidmouth and two future Prime Ministers, the Duke of Wellington and Frederick Robinson. Some radicals, notably William Cobbett, claimed a "cover-up" within the government and viewed the verdict and Castlereagh's public funeral as a damning indictment of the elitism and privilege of the unreformed electoral system. At his funeral on 20 August, the crowds which lined the funeral route were generally respectful and decorous, but some jeering and insults were heard (although not to the level of unanimity projected in the radical press); and there was cheering when the coffin was taken out of the hearse at the Abbey door. A funeral monument was not erected until 1850 when his half-brother and successor, Charles Stewart Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry did so.
Some time after Castlereagh's death, Lord Byron wrote a savage quip about his grave:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.
Some of his opponents were damning in their verdicts. Thomas Creevy defied "any human being to discover a single feature of his character that can stand a moment’s criticism. By experience, good manners and great courage, he managed a corrupt House of Commons pretty well, with some address. This is the whole of his intellectual merit. He had a limited understanding and no knowledge, and his whole life was spent in an avowed, cold-blooded contempt of every honest public principle." Sir Robert Wilson believed that there had never been "a greater enemy to civil liberty or a baser slave."
Others of Castlereagh's political opponents were more gracious in their epigrams. Henry Brougham, a Whig politician and later the Lord Chancellor, who had battled frequently with Castlereagh, once almost to the point of calling him out, and had denigrated his skills as Leader, wrote in the week following Castlereagh's death:
Put all their other men together in one scale, and poor Castlereagh in the other – single he plainly weighed them down ... One can't help feeling a little for him, after being pitted against him for several years, pretty regularly. It is like losing a connection suddenly. Also he was a gentleman, and the only one amongst them.
Modern historians stress the success of Castlereagh's career in spite of the hatred and ignominy he suffered. Trevelyan contrasts his positive achievements and his pitiful failures. His diplomacy was applauded by historians. For example, in 1919 diplomatic historians recommended his wise policies of 1814–1815 to the British delegation to the Paris peace conferences that ended the First World War. Historian R. J. White underscores the paradox:
Styles
Robert Stewart acquired the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 when his father was created Earl of Londonderry in the Irish peerage. Upon his father's death in 1821, he succeeded as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, a title to which his father had been raised in 1816. His younger half-brother, the soldier, politician and diplomat Charles Stewart (later Vane) succeeded him as 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in 1822.
He was styled through his life as follows:
Robert Stewart, Esquire (1769–1789)
The Honourable Robert Stewart (1789–1796)
Viscount Castlereagh (1796–1797)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh (1797–1814)
The Right Honourable Viscount Castlereagh, KG (1814–1821)
The Most Honourable Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire) (1821–1822)
Memorials and tributes
Castlereagh Street in Sydney was named after him in 1810 by Governor Macquarie.
The Sydney suburb locality of Castlereagh was also named after him by Macquarie in 1810.
The Castlereagh River in north-western New South Wales was dedicated to him in 1818 by George Evans and explored by John Oxley.
The New South Wales electoral seat of Castlereagh also carried his name from 1904 until 1991.
See also
, two ships named for Lord Castlereagh
Notes, citations, and sources
Notes
Citations
Sources
– A to C (for hamlet of Castlereagh)
– L to M (for Londonderry)
– Scotland and Ireland
(for timeline)
– (especially for early years, access to family papers)
Further reading
Bew, John. Castlereagh: Enlightenment, War and Tyranny, London: Quercus (2011)
review essay by Jack Gumpert Wasserman, in The Byron Journal (2013) Vol. 41, No. 1 online
Cecil, Algernon. British Foreign Secretaries 1807-1916 (1927) pp 1–52.online
Charmley, John, "Castlereagh and France." Diplomacy and Statecraft 17.4 (2006): 665–673.
Coburn, Helen. A Gentleman Among Them: The Public and Private Life of Viscount Castlereagh (Cestus 2016). Available as e-book at amazon.com.
Derry, John W. Castlereagh, London: A. Lane (1976)
Goodlad, Graham. "From Castlereagh to Canning: Continuity and Change in British Foreign Policy," History Review (2008) Issue: 62. pp10+ online
Hayes, Paul. Modern British Foreign Policy: The nineteenth century, 1814–80 (1975).
Lawrence, Thomas, and C. J. Bartlett. The Foreign Policy of Castlereagh, 1812–1815, Britain and the European Alliance (1925) online
King, David. Vienna 1814; How the Conquerors of Napoleon Made Love, War, and Peace at the Congress of Vienna, (Random House, 2008)
Muir, Rory. Britain and the defeat of Napoleon, 1807–1815, New Haven: Yale University Press (1966)
Harold Nicolson, The Congress of Vienna, Constable & Co Ltd, UK/Harcourt Brace and Company (1946)online
Perkins, Bradford. Castlereagh and Adams: England and the United States, 1812–1823, Berkeley: University of California Press (1964)
Schroeder, Paul W. The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848 (1996), European diplomatic history online
Zamoyski, Adam. Rites of Peace; the Fall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna, HarperCollins Publishers (2007)
Primary sources
Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, edited by his brother, Charles William (Stewart) Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, London: John Murray (1848–53) in 12 volumes
Sir A. Alison., Lives of Lord Castlereagh and Sir Charles Stewart, 3 vols., London: Blackwood (1861)
External links
A Letter to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, John C. Hobhouse, London: Robert Stodart (1819), on the Peterloo massacre
1769 births
1820s suicides
1822 deaths
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
British people of the Napoleonic Wars
British politicians who committed suicide
British Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs
Burials at Westminster Abbey
Chief Secretaries for Ireland
Commissioners of the Treasury for Ireland
British duellists
Fellows of the Royal Society
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with mental disorders
Irish MPs 1790–1797
Irish MPs 1798–1800
Irish politicians who committed suicide
Irish Presbyterians
Knights of the Garter
Leaders of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
2
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (1801–1922)
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plympton Erle
Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Politicians from County Dublin
People educated at The Royal School, Armagh
People of the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Political history of Ireland
Stewart
Ulster Scots people
UK MPs 1801–1802
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UK MPs 1806–1807
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs 1812–1818
UK MPs 1818–1820
UK MPs 1820–1826
Londonderry, M2
Robert
| false |
[
"Prince Anton of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (7 October 1841 – 6 August 1866) was a German prince and soldier. He was a member of the Princely House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. During the Austro-Prussian War, while serving with the First Foot Guards, Prince Anton was mortally wounded at Königgrätz and died 33 days later of his wounds.\n\nFamily\nHis father was Charles Anthony, Prince of Hohenzollern, and his mother was Princess Josephine of Baden, daughter of Grand Duke Charles of Baden. Anton had several siblings, including:\n\nLeopold (1835–1905)\nStephanie (1837–1859)\nKarl (1839–1914)\nFriedrich (1843–1904)\nMaria Luise (1845–1912)\n\nHe was very close to his brother, Prince Frederick of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.\n\nAncestry\n\n1841 births\n1866 deaths\nPrinces of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen",
"Elisabeth Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein (28 December 1623 – 9 August 1677) was the daughter of king Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk. She shared the title Countess of Schleswig-Holstein with her mother and siblings.\n\nBiography\nAs her siblings, she was raised by her grandmother Ellen Marsvin and the royal governess Karen Sehested, but spent 1628-29 at the Swedish court. She was married to Hans Lindenov (d. 1659) in 1639, and became the mother of Sophie Amalie Lindenov. She was described as a vulgar, constantly indebted gambler. She did not side with her sister Leonora Christina Ulfeldt during the conflict between Leonora and the king and was not close to her siblings. She was granted a royal pension in 1664, and was also granted many gifts by king Christian V, but continued to be haunted by debts during her life.\n\nAncestry\n\nReferences \n Dansk biografisk Lexikon / IV. Bind. Clemens - Eynden(in Danish)\n\n1623 births\n1677 deaths\n17th-century Danish nobility\n17th-century Danish women\nLindenov family\nChildren of Christian IV of Denmark"
] |
[
"Steeleye Span",
"The wilderness years"
] |
C_349bf1761ad746e69d2b01c2479570cf_0
|
What were the wilderness years?
| 1 |
What were Steeleye Span's wilderness years?
|
Steeleye Span
|
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring. After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although their recording of "Blackleg Miner" (previously an obscure song from an 1844 strike) became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984-5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which put greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs. In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come. Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey of Gillan, easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moire Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section. Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin" that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992, the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well. CANNOTANSWER
|
CANNOTANSWER
|
Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Along with Fairport Convention, they are among the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved significant sales of "All Around My Hat".
Throughout their history, Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes. Their typical album is a collection of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.
History
Early years
Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born bass player Ashley Hutchings departed Fairport Convention, the band he had co-founded in 1967. Fairport had been involved in a road accident in 1969 in which the drummer, Martin Lamble, and Richard Thompson's girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn, were killed and other band members injured. The survivors convalesced in a rented house near Winchester in Hampshire and worked on the album Liege & Lief. Despite the success of the album, Ashley Hutchings and the band's vocalist Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention.
In part, Hutchings departed because he wanted to pursue a different, more traditional, direction than the other members of Fairport did at that time. However, Fairport's co-founder, guitarist Simon Nicol, stated "Whatever the upfront reasons about musical differences and wanting to concentrate on traditional material, I think the accident was the underlying reason why Ashley felt he couldn't continue with us."
Hutchings' new band was formed after he met established duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on the London folk club scene, and the initial line-up was completed by husband and wife team Terry Woods (formerly of Sweeney's Men, later of The Pogues) and Gay Woods. The name Steeleye Span comes from a character in the traditional song "Horkstow Grange" (which they did not actually record until they released an album by that name in 1998). The song gives an account of a fight between John "Steeleye" Span and John Bowlin, neither of whom is proven to have been a real person. Martin Carthy gave Hart the idea to name the band after the song character. When the band discussed names, they decided to choose among the three suggestions "Middlemarch Wait", "Iyubidin's Wait", and "Steeleye Span". Although there were only five members in the band, six ballots appeared and "Steeleye Span" won. Only in 1978 did Hart confess that he had voted twice. The liner notes for their first album include thanks to Carthy for the name suggestion.
With two female singers, the original line-up was unusual for the time, and indeed, never performed live, as the Woodses departed the band shortly after the release of the group's debut album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970). While recording the album, the five members were all living in the same house, an arrangement that produced considerable tensions particularly between Hart and Prior on the one hand and the Woodses on the other. Terry Woods maintains that the members had agreed that if more than one person departed, the remaining members would select a new name, and he was upset that this did not happen when he and Gay Woods left the band. Gay and Terry were replaced by veteran folk musician Martin Carthy and fiddler Peter Knight in a longer-term line-up that toured small concert venues, recorded a number of BBC Radio Sessions, and recorded two albums – Please to See the King (1971) and Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971). While the first album was traditionally performed – guitars, bass and with two guest drummers – Please to See the King was revolutionary in its hard electric sound and lack of drums.
In 1971, the then Steeleye Span line-up minus Maddy Prior contributed to two songs on Scottish folk musician Ray Fisher's album The Bonny Birdy; Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings were also involved in the selection and arrangement of some songs released on this album, whilst Ashley Hutchings wrote the sleeve notes. Furthermore, Martin Carthy and Peter Knight performed on four songs released on Roy Bailey's eponymous debut album in 1971.
A new direction
Shortly after the release of their third album, the band brought in manager Jo Lustig, who brought a more commercial sound to their recordings. At that time, traditionalists Carthy and Hutchings left the band to pursue purely folk projects. Their replacements were electric guitarist Bob Johnson and bass player Rick Kemp, who brought strong rock and blues influences to the sound. Rick Kemp subsequently married Maddy Prior and they had two children before divorcing. Their daughter Rose Kemp and their son Alex (who performs as Kemp) both followed their parents into the music industry.
Lustig signed them to the Chrysalis record label, for a deal that was to last for ten albums.
With the release of their fourth album, Below the Salt, later in 1972, the revised line-up had settled on a distinctive electrified rock sound, although they continued to play mostly arrangements of very traditional material, including songs dating back a hundred years or more. Even on the more commercial Parcel of Rogues (1973), the band had no permanent drummer but, in 1973, rock drummer Nigel Pegrum, who had previously recorded with Gnidrolog, The Small Faces and Uriah Heep, joined them, to harden up their sound (as well as occasionally playing flute and oboe).
Also that year the single "Gaudete" from Below the Salt became a Christmas hit single, reaching number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, although, being an a cappella piece, taken from the late renaissance song collection Piae Cantiones from Finland and sung entirely in Latin, this can neither be considered representative of the band's music, nor of the album from which it was taken. This proved to be their commercial breakthrough and saw them performing on Top of the Pops for the first time. They often include it as a concert encore. Their popularity was also helped by the fact that they often performed as an opening act for fellow Chrysalis artists Jethro Tull.
Their sixth album (and sixth member Pegrum's first with the band) was entitled Now We Are Six. Produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, the album includes the epic track "Thomas the Rhymer", which has been a part of the live set ever since. Although successful, the album is controversial among some fans for the inclusion of nursery rhymes sung by "The St. Eeleye School Choir" (band members singing in the style of children), and the cover of "To Know Him Is to Love Him", featuring a guest appearance from David Bowie on saxophone.
The attempts at humour continued on Commoners Crown (1975), which included Peter Sellers playing electric ukulele on the final track, "New York Girls". Their seventh album also included the epic ballad "Long Lankin" and novelty instrumental "Bach Goes To Limerick".
Mike Batt era
With their star now conspicuously ascendant, the band brought in producer Mike Batt to work on their eighth album, All Around My Hat, and their biggest success would come with the release of the title track as a single – it reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1975. The single was also released in other European countries and gave them a breakthrough in the Netherlands and Germany. Other well-known tracks on the album included "Black Jack Davy" (sampled by rappers Goldie Lookin Chain on their track "The Maggot") and the rocky "Hard Times of Old England". While All Around My Hat was the height of the band's commercial success, the good times were not to last long. Despite touring almost every year since 1975, they have not had another hit single, nor any success in the album chart, since the late 1970s.
The follow-up album, Rocket Cottage (1976), also produced by Batt, proved to be a commercial flop, despite having much in common musically with its predecessor. The opening track, "London", was penned by Rick Kemp as a follow-up to "All Around My Hat", in response to a request from the record label that Kemp describes as "we'll have another one of those, please", and released as a single. The song failed to make the UK Chart, in complete contrast to "All Around My Hat", despite having much in common – a 12/8 time signature, upbeat tempo, solo verses and full harmony chorus. Rocket Cottage also included the experimental track "Fighting for Strangers" (with sparse vocals singing concurrently in a variety of keys) and, on the final track, excerpts of studio banter between the band members and a seemingly impromptu rendition of "Camptown Races", in which Prior gets the lyrics wrong.
At the time of their seventh album, Commoners Crown, the advent of punk saw the mainstream market turning away from folk rock almost overnight, heralding a downturn in commercial fortunes for the band. However, as a thank you to their committed fans (and also possibly to garner some publicity for their underperforming album), Steeleye Span showered attendees of a November 1976 concert in London with £8,500 in pound notes (then equivalent to US$13,600). The unannounced idea was Maddy Prior's and, remarkably, no-one was injured in the rush to grab the falling notes. Indeed, contemporary press reports indicated that it took some time for the crowd to even realise what was happening. Thanks to their connection with Mike Batt, band members appeared in Womble costumes on Top of the Pops, performing the Wombles hit "Superwomble".
Late 1970s and early 1980s
While they would never regain the commercial success of All Around My Hat, Steeleye remained popular among British folk rock fans and generally respected within the music industry. It has been widely reported that Peter Knight and Bob Johnson left the band to work on another project together, The King of Elfland's Daughter. The actual situation was more complex. Chrysalis Records agreed to allow Knight and Johnson to work on "King" only as a way to persuade the duo to continue working with Steeleye. Since the record company had no interest in "King" for its own sake, it made no effort to market the album. Chrysalis' ploy failed, however, and Knight and Johnson quit.
Their departure left a significant hole in the band. For the 1977 album, Storm Force Ten, early member Martin Carthy rejoined on guitar. When he originally joined the band for their second album, Carthy had tried to persuade the others to bring John Kirkpatrick on board but the band had chosen Knight instead. This time, Carthy's suggestion was accepted and Kirkpatrick's accordion replaced Knight's fiddle, which gave the recording a very different texture from the Steeleye sound of previous years. Kirkpatrick's one-man morris dances quickly became one of the highlights of the band's show. This line-up also recorded their first album outside of the studio, Live at Last, before a "split" at the end of the decade that proved to be short-lived. Carthy and Kirkpatrick had only intended to play with the band for a few months and had no interest in a longer association.
During 1977 and some time thereafter, Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp created a "porno punk" band called The Pork Dukes, using pseudonyms. The Pork Dukes released several albums and singles over the years.
The band were contractually obliged to record a final album for the Chrysalis label and, with Carthy and Kirkpatrick not wanting to rejoin the re-formed band, the door was open for Knight and Johnson to return, in 1980. The album Sails of Silver saw the band moving away from traditional material to a greater focus on self-penned songs, many with historical or pseudo-folk themes. Sails was not a commercial success, in part because Chrysalis chose not to promote the album aggressively but also because many fans felt uncomfortable with the band's new direction in its choice of material. The failure of the album left Hart unhappy enough that he decided to leave the band and give up commercial music entirely, in favour of a reclusive life overseas.
After Sails of Silver there were to be no new albums for several years, and Steeleye became a part-time touring band. The other members spent much of their time and energy working on their various other projects and the band went into a fitful hibernation. "Sails of Silver" was used as a theme song for the science fiction literary show "Hour of The Wolf", on NYC radio station WBAI 99.5FM since the 1980s. This introduced many younger US listeners to the band.
In 1981 Isla St Clair presented a series of four television programmes, called "The Song and The Story", about the history of some folk songs, which won the Prix Jeunesse. St Clair sang the songs, and The Maddy Prior Band did the backing instrumentals.
Wilderness years
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring.
After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although they covered "Blackleg Miner" (a composition to support a 1844 strike revised many times by folk artists in the 20th century) to show solidarity with striking miners. Some argued this became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984–5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which some claim puts greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs .
In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come.
Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey (most recently of rock band Gillan), easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moiré Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section.
Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin", that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992 the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well.
Maddy 'leaves the bus'
In 1995 almost all the past and present members of the band reunited for a concert to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the band (which would later be released as The Journey). The only former members not present were founding members Terry Woods, Mark Williamson, and Chris Staines.
A by-product of this gig was founding vocalist Gay Woods rejoining the band full-time, partly because Prior was experiencing vocal problems and, for a while, Steeleye toured with two female singers and released the album Time 1996, their first new studio album in seven years.
There were doubts over the future of the band when Prior announced her departure, in 1997, but Steeleye continued in a more productive vein than for many years, with Woods as lead singer, releasing Horkstow Grange (1998), and then Bedlam Born (2000). Fans of Steeleye's "rock" element felt that Horkstow Grange was too quiet and folk-oriented, while fans of the band's "folk" element complained that Bedlam Born was too rock-heavy. Woods received considerable criticism from fans, many of whom did not realise that she was one of the founding members and who compared her singing style unfavourably to Prior's. There was also disagreement among the band about what material to perform; Woods advocated performing old favourites such as "All Around My Hat" and "Alison Gross", while Johnson favoured a set that emphasised their newer material.
Liam Genockey had also left the band in 1997 and, on these albums, the drum kit was manned by Dave Mattacks, who was not an official member of the band.
Breakup and comeback
Reported difficulties among band members saw a split during the recording of Bedlam Born. Woods reportedly was uncomfortable with the financial arrangements of the band, health problems forced Johnson into retirement, and drummer Dave Mattacks' period as an unofficial member came to an end. Rick Kemp resumed playing with the band as a guest replacing Bob Johnson for the Bedlam Born tour, with Harries switching to lead guitar. Woods then left after this tour.
For a while the band consisted of just Peter Knight and Tim Harries, plus various guest musicians, as they fulfilled live commitments. This was an uncertain time for the future of the band, and when Harries announced he was not keen to continue his role, even the willingness of Kemp to return to the line-up full-time was not enough to prevent an 18 month hiatus while Peter Knight and the bands manager, John Dagnell, considered whether it was worth continuing.
In 2002 Steeleye Span reformed with a "classic" line-up (including Prior), bringing an end to the uncertainty of the previous couple of years. Knight hosted a poll on his website, asking the band's fans which Steeleye songs they would most want to see the band re-record. Armed with the results, Knight persuaded Prior and Genockey to rejoin, coaxed Johnson out of a health-induced retirement and, along with Kemp and Knight, they released Present—The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002), a 2-disc set of new recordings of the songs.
Bob Johnson's health issues prevented him from playing live, shortly before the 2002 comeback tour, and he was replaced at the eleventh hour on guitar by Ken Nicol, formerly of the Albion Band. Nicol had been talking with Rick Kemp about forming a band, when Kemp invited him to play for the tour and this was to herald a significant return to form for the band.
Ken Nicol years
A revitalised lineup consisting of Prior, Kemp, Knight, Genockey and newcomer Ken Nicol released the album They Called Her Babylon early in 2004, to considerable acclaim. The band extensively toured the UK, Europe and Australia, and their relatively prolific output continued with the release of the Christmas album Winter later the same year, as the band ended a busy year of touring with a gala performance in London's Palladium theatre. In 2005 Steeleye Span were awarded the Good Tradition Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, while the 2005 book, Electric Folk by Britta Sweers devotes much space to the band.
With a new sense of purpose and a stable line-up, the band carried out a UK tour in April and May 2006, followed by dates in Europe and an appearance at the 2006 Cropredy Festival, where they were the headline act on the opening night. The set started with "Bonny Black Hare" and finished with "All Around My Hat", with backing vocals from the Cropredy Crowd. The full play list is at Crop Log 2006. The tour was supported by a live album and DVD of their 2004 tour.
In November 2006 Steeleye released their studio album Bloody Men. Their Autumn/Winter tour started on 24 November 2006 in Basingstoke and ran until just before Christmas. They headlined at their namesake festival, Spanfest 2007 at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk from 27 to 29 July 2007, and returned for Spanfest 2008. However, as Kentwell Hall declined to hold the festival again, it was held at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire. A UK tour took place between 17 April and 16 May 2008.
For their 40th anniversary tour, in 2009, Pete Zorn joined the line-up on bass, as Rick Kemp was unwell. Kemp and Zorn both toured with the band for the winter tour that year, with Zorn playing guitar, and Kemp announced that he would be retiring at the end of the tour – a decision he later reversed, as usual.
Live at a Distance, a live double CD and DVD set, was released in April 2009 by Park Records, and their new studio album entitled Cogs, Wheels & Lovers was released on 26 October 2009. Several tracks from this album featured in the sets of the autumn tour.
Founding member Tim Hart died on 24 December 2009, at his home in La Gomera on the Canary Islands, at the age of 61, after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Now We Are Six Again / Wintersmith
In June 2010 Ken Nicol announced that he was leaving Steeleye and the band reassembled for a Spring 2011 tour, with Julian Littman joining the line-up as guitarist, replacing Nicol. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn also continued to play with the band, making them a six-piece for the first time in many years.
In 2011 they released Now We Are Six again, a live double album based on their set at the time, which included full performances of all the songs on their 1974 Now we are Six album.
In October 2013 the band released their 22nd studio album, Wintersmith, containing original songs based on the writings of Terry Pratchett. This was followed by a winter tour of the UK. This album marked a return to form and media attention as the album reached number 77 in the UK Albums Chart, had tracks played on BBC Radio 2 and led to various radio and TV interviews for Terry Pratchett and Maddy Prior as they promoted the album.
Following Pratchett's death, in March 2015, the band made an appearance at the memorial service for him, in April 2016, at Barbican Centre, London.
Peter Knight leaves / Dodgy Bastards album
In November 2013 Peter Knight announced that he would be leaving Steeleye Span at the end of 2013. He was replaced by Jessie May Smart. The band continued to tour regularly and recorded four new tracks for the 2014 'Deluxe' re-release of the Wintersmith album.
In the summer of 2015 they toured North America, with a reduced line up consisting of Prior, Littman, Smart, Genockey and, for the first time, Maddy's son, Alex Kemp, on bass, replacing his father, Rick. An autumn/winter tour of the UK followed with Rick Kemp back in the line-up, along with Andrew 'Spud' Sinclair, replacing Pete Zorn.
In April 2016 Pete Zorn was diagnosed with advanced lung and brain cancer. He died on 19 April.
Andrew Sinclair joined the band permanently in 2016 and the line up toured in October 2016 and announced the release of a new studio album, Dodgy Bastards, in November. The album is a mixture of original compositions, traditional songs and original tunes put to traditional lyrics.
Present day / 50th anniversary
After completing the 'Dodgy Bastards' tour, Rick Kemp retired and has been replaced by Roger Carey, on bass. For the November/December 2017 tour the band was joined by multi-instrumentalist and ex-Bellowhead member Benji Kirkpatrick. Benji is son of former Steeleye Span member, John Kirkpatrick. This seven-piece line-up, the first in the band's history, has continued to tour. 2019 was the band's 50th anniversary year and a new album was released to celebrate the anniversary: Est'd 1969. The band undertook two "50th Anniversary" tours in 2019, in Spring and November. The band played the 'Fields of Avalon' area at the Glastonbury Festival 2019, were the closing act at the Cornbury Music Festival 2019 and even made their debut in Russia at a folk festival called Chasti Sveta (Части света, Parts of the World), in Saint Petersburg. On 17 December they appeared at the Barbican Theatre, in London, with special guests and previous band members Peter Knight, Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. For the November/December 2022 tour, with Jessie May Smart on maternity leave, Violeta Vicci joined the band, on violin. Benji Kirkpatrick left the band in early 2022.
Examples of collaborations
Prior sang backing vocals on the title track of Jethro Tull's 1976 album Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die, the song "Salamander's Rag-Time" from the same session and their 1978 single "A Stitch In Time". Later, members of Jethro Tull backed Prior on her album Woman in the Wings. Ray Fisher's rare 1972 album Bonny Birdy includes one track with the High Level Ranters, one with Steeleye Span, and one with Martin Carthy.
Until the 1990s Steeleye often toured as part of a double bill, either supporting Status Quo, or featuring support from artists such as Rock Salt & Nails and The Rankin Family. When Steeleye Span supported Status Quo on tour, in 1996, the latter had just issued their version of "All Around My Hat" as a single. "The video was filmed at Christmas," Prior recalled. "We'd supported them, and I found myself down in the mosh pit. Francis saw me and told the audience, 'Oh look, there's a Maddy lookalike down there… Fuck me, it is Maddy!' I was hoyed over the barrier [to the stage], to join them for the encore. It was all very jolly." Status Quo's single is credited to "Status Quo with Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span" and reached number 47 in the charts.
Discography
Studio albums
Hark! The Village Wait (1970)
Please to See the King (1971)
Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971)
Below the Salt (1972)
Parcel of Rogues (1973)
Now We Are Six (1974)
Commoners Crown (1975)
All Around My Hat (1975)
Rocket Cottage (1976)
Storm Force Ten (1977)
Sails of Silver (1980)
Back in Line (1986)
Tempted and Tried (1989)
Time (1996)
Horkstow Grange (1998)
Bedlam Born (2000)
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002)
They Called Her Babylon (2004)
Winter (2004)
Bloody Men (2006)
Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009)
Wintersmith (2013)
Dodgy Bastards (2016)
Est'd 1969 (2019)
Lost recordings
In 1995 Steeleye recorded "The Golden Vanity" for the Time album, but it did not appear on it. It was released on the anthology The Best of British Folk Rock. Similarly they recorded "General Taylor" for Ten Man Mop but the song did not appear on it. It resurfaced on the compilation album Individually and Collectively instead. It was also included in another compilation The Lark in The Morning (2006), as well as re-issues of Ten Man Mop. "Bonny Moorhen" was recorded at the time of the Parcel of Rogues session. It appears, however, on the compilation album Original Masters, and is also packaged as part of A Parcel of Steeleye Span. The song "Somewhere in London", recorded for Back in Line (1986) was released instead as a B-side single, but returned to its proper place "Back in Line" when the album was reissued in 1991. "Staring Robin", a song about a man described by Tim Harries as an "Elizabethan psycho", was recorded during the Bedlam Born (2000) sessions, but it was left off the final album as it was deemed by Park Records to be too disturbing.
The track "The Holly and the Ivy" was released as the B-side of the Gaudete single and did not appear on any album. It was later released on the 'Steeleye Span: A rare collection' oddities compilation. Several Steeleye songs have never been recorded for a studio album and have only been made available in their live versions, including several tracks on 'Live at Last' and 'Tonight's the night... Live'.
Personnel
Members
Current members
Maddy Prior – vocals
Liam Genockey – drums, percussion
Andrew "Spud" Sinclair – guitars
Julian Littman – guitars
Jessie May Smart – violin
Roger Carey – bass
Violeta Vicci –
Former members
Tim Hart – guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, vocals
Ashley Hutchings – bass
Gay Woods – vocals, bodhran
Terry Woods – guitars, concertina, vocals
Martin Carthy – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Bob Johnson – guitars, vocals
Nigel Pegrum – drums, percussion, flute
John Kirkpatrick – accordion, vocals
Mark Williamson – bass
Chris Staines – bass
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
Tim Harries – bass, piano, guitars, vocals
Michael Gregory – drums, percussion
Terl Bryant – drums, percussion
Ken Nicol – guitars, vocals
Peter Knight – strings, keyboards, guitars, vocals
Pete Zorn – guitars, woodwind
Rick Kemp – bass, drums, vocals
Benji Kirkpatrick – bouzouki, banjo, vocals
Lineups
Timeline
Notes and references
Sources
External links
Official website
Steeleye Span's record label
1969 establishments in England
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Ashley Hutchings
British folk rock groups
Chrysalis Records artists
English folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1969
RCA Records artists
United Artists Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups
| false |
[
"Ellicott Rock Wilderness is managed by the United States Forest Service and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. It was first designated by Congress in 1975 with the Eastern Wilderness Act. The majority of this land (approximately 3,300 acres) lays in South Carolina. Additional lands were added to Ellicott Rock Wilderness in 1984 with the passing of the North Carolina Wilderness Act and the Georgia Wilderness Act, today designated wilderness totals . Ellicott Rock Wilderness is the only wilderness that straddles three states, with boundaries located around the point at which Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina come together. Ellicott Rock Wilderness also spans three National Forests. Sumter National Forest in South Carolina is responsible for , receives the majority of recreation in the wilderness, and is also the lead manager of Ellicott Rock Wilderness. Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina is responsible for the majority of the wilderness at and the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia manages of the wilderness. In 1979, all Forest Service land was surveyed under the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE II) and on the Sumter National Forest (adjacent to the existing wilderness) were classified as Roadless National Forest System land and named Ellicott Rock Extension. The Andrew Pickens Ranger district on the Sumter National Forest recommended the Ellicott Rock Extension as wilderness in 1995 in their Resource Management Plan. Although not fully designated, recommended wilderness is managed as if it were designated wilderness. In June 2017 during a land management plan revision, the Nantahala Ranger District on the Nantahala National Forest added of proposed wilderness, currently called Ellicott Rock West Extension.\n\nEllicott Rock Wilderness is named for “Ellicott's Rock,” a rock on the east bank of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River on which surveyor Major Andrew Ellicott chiseled a mark in 1811 to determine the border between Georgia and North Carolina. Major Ellicott, a well-respected, sought-after surveyor, astronomer, and mathematician, was hired by the state of Georgia to ground-truth the 35th parallel and settle a border dispute between Georgia and North Carolina. The task proved long and arduous, saw difficult terrain, and the location was not accessible by horse. On December 26 with severe weather and limited food, Major Ellicott calculated the 35th parallel and inscribed the letters \"N-G\" on a rock along the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River. This put the Georgia-North Carolina border approximately 18 miles south of what Georgia claimed at the time. Due to Georgia's unfavorable results, Major Ellicott went unpaid for over a year and was ultimately paid a tiny fraction of the salary promised. Two years later, a group of commissioners representing both North and South Carolina set out to verify the location of Ellicott's Rock. The commissioners carved a second rock (approximately 10 feet north of Ellicott's Rock) with the inscription \"Lat 35 AD 1813 NC + SC\" to mark where the North Carolina and South Carolina state lines joined together. This second rock is commonly referred to as Ellicott's Rock though more accurately it is named Commissioner's Rock. Commissioner's Rock was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1973.\n\nThe sparkling gem within Ellicott Rock Wilderness both at the time of wilderness designation up until today is the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River. The Chattooga Wild and Scenic River bisects Ellicott Rock Wilderness, running through the heart of the wilderness. Made famous more than 45 years ago from the book and later movie, Deliverance, the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River is a prized feature among visitors to Ellicott Rock Wilderness. Many people can be found along the River enjoying the water, fishing, camping, and boating. There is a strong cultural tie to recreation uses along this river and it maintains a special place in the hearts of its frequent visitors. \n\nEllicott Rock Wilderness is located in the southern tip of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a sub-mountain range of the Appalachian Mountains. It has a temperate climate with an average rainfall of 80 inches per year creating a dense forest with steep, rugged terrain. Embedded throughout the wilderness landscape are a variety of hardwood trees (creating breathtaking scenes come fall), white pines, and hemlocks with bountiful water sources including a couple waterfalls. One popular waterfall, Spoonauger Falls, is located on the Chattooga River Trail, a short quarter-mile hike from the trailhead located on Burrell's Ford road. The Wilderness is home to Glade Mountain of Georgia standing at an elevation of and Fork Mountain of South Carolina at an elevation of . The watershed surrounding the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River is one of the most biologically diverse in the country. The wonderful array of sights, sounds, and smells of the wild flora and fauna bring Ellicott Rock Wilderness to life. \n\nA variety of recreation occurs in Ellicott Rock Wilderness including hiking, camping, backpacking, fishing, hunting, kayaking, and orienteering. The Wilderness supports approximately 18 miles of designated terrestrial trails. South Carolina trails include Chattooga River Trail, East Fork Trail, Foothills Connector Trail, and a majority of the Fork Mountain Trail. North Carolina has one trail, Ellicott Rock Trail, with two trailheads along Bull Creek Road and a big river crossing in the middle. Georgia does not maintain any trails. While there are no officially designated campsites in Ellicott Rock Wilderness yet, many unofficial campsites occur along the trails, particularly along the Chattooga River trail. Unofficial campsites are primitive with no amenities.\n\nThe wilderness embodies many examples of life in the Appalachian Mountains pre-civilization and provides a wonderful escape to millions from the accustomed hustle and bustle of city life. \n\nWhat is wilderness?\n\nEllicott Rock Wilderness is part of the 110 million acre National Wilderness Preservation System. This system of wild federal land is designated by Congress and protected under the Wilderness Act of 1964. Wilderness land consist of some of the most wild, undisturbed places in the United States. Wilderness has five special characteristics: untrammeled, natural, undeveloped, opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, and other features of value. Wilderness often has less recreational amenities and more restrictions and prohibitions.\n\nSee also\n List of U.S. Wilderness Areas\n Wilderness Act\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n US Forest Service entry for Ellicott Rock Wilderness\n Wilderness Connect entry for the Ellicott Rock Wilderness\nMap of Ellicott Rock Wilderness\nHiking the Appalachians and Beyond entry for Ellicott Rock Wilderness\n Sherpa Guide to the Ellicott Rock Wilderness\n TopoQuest Map showing location of Ellicott Rock\n\nWilderness areas of Georgia (U.S. state)\nWilderness areas of South Carolina\nWilderness areas of North Carolina\nIUCN Category Ib\nWilderness areas of the Appalachians\nProtected areas of Jackson County, North Carolina\nProtected areas of Macon County, North Carolina\nProtected areas of Rabun County, Georgia\nProtected areas of Oconee County, South Carolina\nSumter National Forest\nProtected areas established in 1975\nNantahala National Forest\nChattahoochee-Oconee National Forest",
"The Wilderness Years may refer to:\n\nWinston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, 1981 drama serial based on the life of Winston Churchill\nThe Wilderness Years (Nick Lowe album), an album by Nick Lowe\nAdrian Mole: The Wilderness Years, the fourth book in the Adrian Mole series, written by Sue Townsend"
] |
[
"Steeleye Span",
"The wilderness years",
"What were the wilderness years?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_349bf1761ad746e69d2b01c2479570cf_0
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Did the band release any albums during this time?
| 2 |
Did the Steleye Span release any albums during the wilderness years?
|
Steeleye Span
|
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring. After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although their recording of "Blackleg Miner" (previously an obscure song from an 1844 strike) became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984-5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which put greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs. In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come. Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey of Gillan, easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moire Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section. Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin" that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992, the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well. CANNOTANSWER
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The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years
|
Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Along with Fairport Convention, they are among the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved significant sales of "All Around My Hat".
Throughout their history, Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes. Their typical album is a collection of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.
History
Early years
Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born bass player Ashley Hutchings departed Fairport Convention, the band he had co-founded in 1967. Fairport had been involved in a road accident in 1969 in which the drummer, Martin Lamble, and Richard Thompson's girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn, were killed and other band members injured. The survivors convalesced in a rented house near Winchester in Hampshire and worked on the album Liege & Lief. Despite the success of the album, Ashley Hutchings and the band's vocalist Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention.
In part, Hutchings departed because he wanted to pursue a different, more traditional, direction than the other members of Fairport did at that time. However, Fairport's co-founder, guitarist Simon Nicol, stated "Whatever the upfront reasons about musical differences and wanting to concentrate on traditional material, I think the accident was the underlying reason why Ashley felt he couldn't continue with us."
Hutchings' new band was formed after he met established duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on the London folk club scene, and the initial line-up was completed by husband and wife team Terry Woods (formerly of Sweeney's Men, later of The Pogues) and Gay Woods. The name Steeleye Span comes from a character in the traditional song "Horkstow Grange" (which they did not actually record until they released an album by that name in 1998). The song gives an account of a fight between John "Steeleye" Span and John Bowlin, neither of whom is proven to have been a real person. Martin Carthy gave Hart the idea to name the band after the song character. When the band discussed names, they decided to choose among the three suggestions "Middlemarch Wait", "Iyubidin's Wait", and "Steeleye Span". Although there were only five members in the band, six ballots appeared and "Steeleye Span" won. Only in 1978 did Hart confess that he had voted twice. The liner notes for their first album include thanks to Carthy for the name suggestion.
With two female singers, the original line-up was unusual for the time, and indeed, never performed live, as the Woodses departed the band shortly after the release of the group's debut album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970). While recording the album, the five members were all living in the same house, an arrangement that produced considerable tensions particularly between Hart and Prior on the one hand and the Woodses on the other. Terry Woods maintains that the members had agreed that if more than one person departed, the remaining members would select a new name, and he was upset that this did not happen when he and Gay Woods left the band. Gay and Terry were replaced by veteran folk musician Martin Carthy and fiddler Peter Knight in a longer-term line-up that toured small concert venues, recorded a number of BBC Radio Sessions, and recorded two albums – Please to See the King (1971) and Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971). While the first album was traditionally performed – guitars, bass and with two guest drummers – Please to See the King was revolutionary in its hard electric sound and lack of drums.
In 1971, the then Steeleye Span line-up minus Maddy Prior contributed to two songs on Scottish folk musician Ray Fisher's album The Bonny Birdy; Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings were also involved in the selection and arrangement of some songs released on this album, whilst Ashley Hutchings wrote the sleeve notes. Furthermore, Martin Carthy and Peter Knight performed on four songs released on Roy Bailey's eponymous debut album in 1971.
A new direction
Shortly after the release of their third album, the band brought in manager Jo Lustig, who brought a more commercial sound to their recordings. At that time, traditionalists Carthy and Hutchings left the band to pursue purely folk projects. Their replacements were electric guitarist Bob Johnson and bass player Rick Kemp, who brought strong rock and blues influences to the sound. Rick Kemp subsequently married Maddy Prior and they had two children before divorcing. Their daughter Rose Kemp and their son Alex (who performs as Kemp) both followed their parents into the music industry.
Lustig signed them to the Chrysalis record label, for a deal that was to last for ten albums.
With the release of their fourth album, Below the Salt, later in 1972, the revised line-up had settled on a distinctive electrified rock sound, although they continued to play mostly arrangements of very traditional material, including songs dating back a hundred years or more. Even on the more commercial Parcel of Rogues (1973), the band had no permanent drummer but, in 1973, rock drummer Nigel Pegrum, who had previously recorded with Gnidrolog, The Small Faces and Uriah Heep, joined them, to harden up their sound (as well as occasionally playing flute and oboe).
Also that year the single "Gaudete" from Below the Salt became a Christmas hit single, reaching number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, although, being an a cappella piece, taken from the late renaissance song collection Piae Cantiones from Finland and sung entirely in Latin, this can neither be considered representative of the band's music, nor of the album from which it was taken. This proved to be their commercial breakthrough and saw them performing on Top of the Pops for the first time. They often include it as a concert encore. Their popularity was also helped by the fact that they often performed as an opening act for fellow Chrysalis artists Jethro Tull.
Their sixth album (and sixth member Pegrum's first with the band) was entitled Now We Are Six. Produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, the album includes the epic track "Thomas the Rhymer", which has been a part of the live set ever since. Although successful, the album is controversial among some fans for the inclusion of nursery rhymes sung by "The St. Eeleye School Choir" (band members singing in the style of children), and the cover of "To Know Him Is to Love Him", featuring a guest appearance from David Bowie on saxophone.
The attempts at humour continued on Commoners Crown (1975), which included Peter Sellers playing electric ukulele on the final track, "New York Girls". Their seventh album also included the epic ballad "Long Lankin" and novelty instrumental "Bach Goes To Limerick".
Mike Batt era
With their star now conspicuously ascendant, the band brought in producer Mike Batt to work on their eighth album, All Around My Hat, and their biggest success would come with the release of the title track as a single – it reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1975. The single was also released in other European countries and gave them a breakthrough in the Netherlands and Germany. Other well-known tracks on the album included "Black Jack Davy" (sampled by rappers Goldie Lookin Chain on their track "The Maggot") and the rocky "Hard Times of Old England". While All Around My Hat was the height of the band's commercial success, the good times were not to last long. Despite touring almost every year since 1975, they have not had another hit single, nor any success in the album chart, since the late 1970s.
The follow-up album, Rocket Cottage (1976), also produced by Batt, proved to be a commercial flop, despite having much in common musically with its predecessor. The opening track, "London", was penned by Rick Kemp as a follow-up to "All Around My Hat", in response to a request from the record label that Kemp describes as "we'll have another one of those, please", and released as a single. The song failed to make the UK Chart, in complete contrast to "All Around My Hat", despite having much in common – a 12/8 time signature, upbeat tempo, solo verses and full harmony chorus. Rocket Cottage also included the experimental track "Fighting for Strangers" (with sparse vocals singing concurrently in a variety of keys) and, on the final track, excerpts of studio banter between the band members and a seemingly impromptu rendition of "Camptown Races", in which Prior gets the lyrics wrong.
At the time of their seventh album, Commoners Crown, the advent of punk saw the mainstream market turning away from folk rock almost overnight, heralding a downturn in commercial fortunes for the band. However, as a thank you to their committed fans (and also possibly to garner some publicity for their underperforming album), Steeleye Span showered attendees of a November 1976 concert in London with £8,500 in pound notes (then equivalent to US$13,600). The unannounced idea was Maddy Prior's and, remarkably, no-one was injured in the rush to grab the falling notes. Indeed, contemporary press reports indicated that it took some time for the crowd to even realise what was happening. Thanks to their connection with Mike Batt, band members appeared in Womble costumes on Top of the Pops, performing the Wombles hit "Superwomble".
Late 1970s and early 1980s
While they would never regain the commercial success of All Around My Hat, Steeleye remained popular among British folk rock fans and generally respected within the music industry. It has been widely reported that Peter Knight and Bob Johnson left the band to work on another project together, The King of Elfland's Daughter. The actual situation was more complex. Chrysalis Records agreed to allow Knight and Johnson to work on "King" only as a way to persuade the duo to continue working with Steeleye. Since the record company had no interest in "King" for its own sake, it made no effort to market the album. Chrysalis' ploy failed, however, and Knight and Johnson quit.
Their departure left a significant hole in the band. For the 1977 album, Storm Force Ten, early member Martin Carthy rejoined on guitar. When he originally joined the band for their second album, Carthy had tried to persuade the others to bring John Kirkpatrick on board but the band had chosen Knight instead. This time, Carthy's suggestion was accepted and Kirkpatrick's accordion replaced Knight's fiddle, which gave the recording a very different texture from the Steeleye sound of previous years. Kirkpatrick's one-man morris dances quickly became one of the highlights of the band's show. This line-up also recorded their first album outside of the studio, Live at Last, before a "split" at the end of the decade that proved to be short-lived. Carthy and Kirkpatrick had only intended to play with the band for a few months and had no interest in a longer association.
During 1977 and some time thereafter, Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp created a "porno punk" band called The Pork Dukes, using pseudonyms. The Pork Dukes released several albums and singles over the years.
The band were contractually obliged to record a final album for the Chrysalis label and, with Carthy and Kirkpatrick not wanting to rejoin the re-formed band, the door was open for Knight and Johnson to return, in 1980. The album Sails of Silver saw the band moving away from traditional material to a greater focus on self-penned songs, many with historical or pseudo-folk themes. Sails was not a commercial success, in part because Chrysalis chose not to promote the album aggressively but also because many fans felt uncomfortable with the band's new direction in its choice of material. The failure of the album left Hart unhappy enough that he decided to leave the band and give up commercial music entirely, in favour of a reclusive life overseas.
After Sails of Silver there were to be no new albums for several years, and Steeleye became a part-time touring band. The other members spent much of their time and energy working on their various other projects and the band went into a fitful hibernation. "Sails of Silver" was used as a theme song for the science fiction literary show "Hour of The Wolf", on NYC radio station WBAI 99.5FM since the 1980s. This introduced many younger US listeners to the band.
In 1981 Isla St Clair presented a series of four television programmes, called "The Song and The Story", about the history of some folk songs, which won the Prix Jeunesse. St Clair sang the songs, and The Maddy Prior Band did the backing instrumentals.
Wilderness years
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring.
After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although they covered "Blackleg Miner" (a composition to support a 1844 strike revised many times by folk artists in the 20th century) to show solidarity with striking miners. Some argued this became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984–5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which some claim puts greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs .
In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come.
Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey (most recently of rock band Gillan), easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moiré Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section.
Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin", that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992 the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well.
Maddy 'leaves the bus'
In 1995 almost all the past and present members of the band reunited for a concert to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the band (which would later be released as The Journey). The only former members not present were founding members Terry Woods, Mark Williamson, and Chris Staines.
A by-product of this gig was founding vocalist Gay Woods rejoining the band full-time, partly because Prior was experiencing vocal problems and, for a while, Steeleye toured with two female singers and released the album Time 1996, their first new studio album in seven years.
There were doubts over the future of the band when Prior announced her departure, in 1997, but Steeleye continued in a more productive vein than for many years, with Woods as lead singer, releasing Horkstow Grange (1998), and then Bedlam Born (2000). Fans of Steeleye's "rock" element felt that Horkstow Grange was too quiet and folk-oriented, while fans of the band's "folk" element complained that Bedlam Born was too rock-heavy. Woods received considerable criticism from fans, many of whom did not realise that she was one of the founding members and who compared her singing style unfavourably to Prior's. There was also disagreement among the band about what material to perform; Woods advocated performing old favourites such as "All Around My Hat" and "Alison Gross", while Johnson favoured a set that emphasised their newer material.
Liam Genockey had also left the band in 1997 and, on these albums, the drum kit was manned by Dave Mattacks, who was not an official member of the band.
Breakup and comeback
Reported difficulties among band members saw a split during the recording of Bedlam Born. Woods reportedly was uncomfortable with the financial arrangements of the band, health problems forced Johnson into retirement, and drummer Dave Mattacks' period as an unofficial member came to an end. Rick Kemp resumed playing with the band as a guest replacing Bob Johnson for the Bedlam Born tour, with Harries switching to lead guitar. Woods then left after this tour.
For a while the band consisted of just Peter Knight and Tim Harries, plus various guest musicians, as they fulfilled live commitments. This was an uncertain time for the future of the band, and when Harries announced he was not keen to continue his role, even the willingness of Kemp to return to the line-up full-time was not enough to prevent an 18 month hiatus while Peter Knight and the bands manager, John Dagnell, considered whether it was worth continuing.
In 2002 Steeleye Span reformed with a "classic" line-up (including Prior), bringing an end to the uncertainty of the previous couple of years. Knight hosted a poll on his website, asking the band's fans which Steeleye songs they would most want to see the band re-record. Armed with the results, Knight persuaded Prior and Genockey to rejoin, coaxed Johnson out of a health-induced retirement and, along with Kemp and Knight, they released Present—The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002), a 2-disc set of new recordings of the songs.
Bob Johnson's health issues prevented him from playing live, shortly before the 2002 comeback tour, and he was replaced at the eleventh hour on guitar by Ken Nicol, formerly of the Albion Band. Nicol had been talking with Rick Kemp about forming a band, when Kemp invited him to play for the tour and this was to herald a significant return to form for the band.
Ken Nicol years
A revitalised lineup consisting of Prior, Kemp, Knight, Genockey and newcomer Ken Nicol released the album They Called Her Babylon early in 2004, to considerable acclaim. The band extensively toured the UK, Europe and Australia, and their relatively prolific output continued with the release of the Christmas album Winter later the same year, as the band ended a busy year of touring with a gala performance in London's Palladium theatre. In 2005 Steeleye Span were awarded the Good Tradition Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, while the 2005 book, Electric Folk by Britta Sweers devotes much space to the band.
With a new sense of purpose and a stable line-up, the band carried out a UK tour in April and May 2006, followed by dates in Europe and an appearance at the 2006 Cropredy Festival, where they were the headline act on the opening night. The set started with "Bonny Black Hare" and finished with "All Around My Hat", with backing vocals from the Cropredy Crowd. The full play list is at Crop Log 2006. The tour was supported by a live album and DVD of their 2004 tour.
In November 2006 Steeleye released their studio album Bloody Men. Their Autumn/Winter tour started on 24 November 2006 in Basingstoke and ran until just before Christmas. They headlined at their namesake festival, Spanfest 2007 at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk from 27 to 29 July 2007, and returned for Spanfest 2008. However, as Kentwell Hall declined to hold the festival again, it was held at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire. A UK tour took place between 17 April and 16 May 2008.
For their 40th anniversary tour, in 2009, Pete Zorn joined the line-up on bass, as Rick Kemp was unwell. Kemp and Zorn both toured with the band for the winter tour that year, with Zorn playing guitar, and Kemp announced that he would be retiring at the end of the tour – a decision he later reversed, as usual.
Live at a Distance, a live double CD and DVD set, was released in April 2009 by Park Records, and their new studio album entitled Cogs, Wheels & Lovers was released on 26 October 2009. Several tracks from this album featured in the sets of the autumn tour.
Founding member Tim Hart died on 24 December 2009, at his home in La Gomera on the Canary Islands, at the age of 61, after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Now We Are Six Again / Wintersmith
In June 2010 Ken Nicol announced that he was leaving Steeleye and the band reassembled for a Spring 2011 tour, with Julian Littman joining the line-up as guitarist, replacing Nicol. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn also continued to play with the band, making them a six-piece for the first time in many years.
In 2011 they released Now We Are Six again, a live double album based on their set at the time, which included full performances of all the songs on their 1974 Now we are Six album.
In October 2013 the band released their 22nd studio album, Wintersmith, containing original songs based on the writings of Terry Pratchett. This was followed by a winter tour of the UK. This album marked a return to form and media attention as the album reached number 77 in the UK Albums Chart, had tracks played on BBC Radio 2 and led to various radio and TV interviews for Terry Pratchett and Maddy Prior as they promoted the album.
Following Pratchett's death, in March 2015, the band made an appearance at the memorial service for him, in April 2016, at Barbican Centre, London.
Peter Knight leaves / Dodgy Bastards album
In November 2013 Peter Knight announced that he would be leaving Steeleye Span at the end of 2013. He was replaced by Jessie May Smart. The band continued to tour regularly and recorded four new tracks for the 2014 'Deluxe' re-release of the Wintersmith album.
In the summer of 2015 they toured North America, with a reduced line up consisting of Prior, Littman, Smart, Genockey and, for the first time, Maddy's son, Alex Kemp, on bass, replacing his father, Rick. An autumn/winter tour of the UK followed with Rick Kemp back in the line-up, along with Andrew 'Spud' Sinclair, replacing Pete Zorn.
In April 2016 Pete Zorn was diagnosed with advanced lung and brain cancer. He died on 19 April.
Andrew Sinclair joined the band permanently in 2016 and the line up toured in October 2016 and announced the release of a new studio album, Dodgy Bastards, in November. The album is a mixture of original compositions, traditional songs and original tunes put to traditional lyrics.
Present day / 50th anniversary
After completing the 'Dodgy Bastards' tour, Rick Kemp retired and has been replaced by Roger Carey, on bass. For the November/December 2017 tour the band was joined by multi-instrumentalist and ex-Bellowhead member Benji Kirkpatrick. Benji is son of former Steeleye Span member, John Kirkpatrick. This seven-piece line-up, the first in the band's history, has continued to tour. 2019 was the band's 50th anniversary year and a new album was released to celebrate the anniversary: Est'd 1969. The band undertook two "50th Anniversary" tours in 2019, in Spring and November. The band played the 'Fields of Avalon' area at the Glastonbury Festival 2019, were the closing act at the Cornbury Music Festival 2019 and even made their debut in Russia at a folk festival called Chasti Sveta (Части света, Parts of the World), in Saint Petersburg. On 17 December they appeared at the Barbican Theatre, in London, with special guests and previous band members Peter Knight, Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. For the November/December 2022 tour, with Jessie May Smart on maternity leave, Violeta Vicci joined the band, on violin. Benji Kirkpatrick left the band in early 2022.
Examples of collaborations
Prior sang backing vocals on the title track of Jethro Tull's 1976 album Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die, the song "Salamander's Rag-Time" from the same session and their 1978 single "A Stitch In Time". Later, members of Jethro Tull backed Prior on her album Woman in the Wings. Ray Fisher's rare 1972 album Bonny Birdy includes one track with the High Level Ranters, one with Steeleye Span, and one with Martin Carthy.
Until the 1990s Steeleye often toured as part of a double bill, either supporting Status Quo, or featuring support from artists such as Rock Salt & Nails and The Rankin Family. When Steeleye Span supported Status Quo on tour, in 1996, the latter had just issued their version of "All Around My Hat" as a single. "The video was filmed at Christmas," Prior recalled. "We'd supported them, and I found myself down in the mosh pit. Francis saw me and told the audience, 'Oh look, there's a Maddy lookalike down there… Fuck me, it is Maddy!' I was hoyed over the barrier [to the stage], to join them for the encore. It was all very jolly." Status Quo's single is credited to "Status Quo with Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span" and reached number 47 in the charts.
Discography
Studio albums
Hark! The Village Wait (1970)
Please to See the King (1971)
Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971)
Below the Salt (1972)
Parcel of Rogues (1973)
Now We Are Six (1974)
Commoners Crown (1975)
All Around My Hat (1975)
Rocket Cottage (1976)
Storm Force Ten (1977)
Sails of Silver (1980)
Back in Line (1986)
Tempted and Tried (1989)
Time (1996)
Horkstow Grange (1998)
Bedlam Born (2000)
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002)
They Called Her Babylon (2004)
Winter (2004)
Bloody Men (2006)
Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009)
Wintersmith (2013)
Dodgy Bastards (2016)
Est'd 1969 (2019)
Lost recordings
In 1995 Steeleye recorded "The Golden Vanity" for the Time album, but it did not appear on it. It was released on the anthology The Best of British Folk Rock. Similarly they recorded "General Taylor" for Ten Man Mop but the song did not appear on it. It resurfaced on the compilation album Individually and Collectively instead. It was also included in another compilation The Lark in The Morning (2006), as well as re-issues of Ten Man Mop. "Bonny Moorhen" was recorded at the time of the Parcel of Rogues session. It appears, however, on the compilation album Original Masters, and is also packaged as part of A Parcel of Steeleye Span. The song "Somewhere in London", recorded for Back in Line (1986) was released instead as a B-side single, but returned to its proper place "Back in Line" when the album was reissued in 1991. "Staring Robin", a song about a man described by Tim Harries as an "Elizabethan psycho", was recorded during the Bedlam Born (2000) sessions, but it was left off the final album as it was deemed by Park Records to be too disturbing.
The track "The Holly and the Ivy" was released as the B-side of the Gaudete single and did not appear on any album. It was later released on the 'Steeleye Span: A rare collection' oddities compilation. Several Steeleye songs have never been recorded for a studio album and have only been made available in their live versions, including several tracks on 'Live at Last' and 'Tonight's the night... Live'.
Personnel
Members
Current members
Maddy Prior – vocals
Liam Genockey – drums, percussion
Andrew "Spud" Sinclair – guitars
Julian Littman – guitars
Jessie May Smart – violin
Roger Carey – bass
Violeta Vicci –
Former members
Tim Hart – guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, vocals
Ashley Hutchings – bass
Gay Woods – vocals, bodhran
Terry Woods – guitars, concertina, vocals
Martin Carthy – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Bob Johnson – guitars, vocals
Nigel Pegrum – drums, percussion, flute
John Kirkpatrick – accordion, vocals
Mark Williamson – bass
Chris Staines – bass
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
Tim Harries – bass, piano, guitars, vocals
Michael Gregory – drums, percussion
Terl Bryant – drums, percussion
Ken Nicol – guitars, vocals
Peter Knight – strings, keyboards, guitars, vocals
Pete Zorn – guitars, woodwind
Rick Kemp – bass, drums, vocals
Benji Kirkpatrick – bouzouki, banjo, vocals
Lineups
Timeline
Notes and references
Sources
External links
Official website
Steeleye Span's record label
1969 establishments in England
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Ashley Hutchings
British folk rock groups
Chrysalis Records artists
English folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1969
RCA Records artists
United Artists Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups
| true |
[
"The Kink Kronikles is a compilation double album by the Kinks, released on Reprise Records in 1972, after the band had signed with RCA Records in 1971. It contains thirteen non-album singles, fourteen tracks taken from five albums released by the band from 1966 to 1971 (including the UK-only Percy), and one track previously unreleased. Designed specifically for the American market, it peaked at No. 94 on the Billboard 200. The single versions and mixes were not necessarily used for each track.\n\nContent\nAfter the Kinks failed to renew their American distribution contract with Reprise, the label assembled this compilation without input from the band. Instead, Reprise invited rock journalist and noted Kinks fan John Mendelsohn to compile this package, ignoring the band's early trademark hits already appearing on Greatest Hits!. Mendelsohn also contributed the liner notes.\n\nThe album contains all five singles that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 during the time period covered, two of which appeared here on album in the U.S. for the first time: \"Dead End Street\" and \"Mr. Pleasant\". \"Lola\" and \"Apeman\" were the band's first American top ten hits in over five years. Five tracks made their U.S. debut in any format here – \"Berkeley Mews\", \"Willesden Green\", \"This Is Where I Belong\", \"Did You See His Name?\" and \"King Kong\". \"Did You See His Name?\" was original to this compilation. \"King Kong\" would make its US single debut Reprise 1094 two months after the release of this double album. (It had been released in 1969 in the UK and other European countries.)\n\nConsidered an exemplary compilation, the album was ranked number 232 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, one of the few compilations to appear on the list. It became an important milestone in the Kinks' career by introducing highlights of the band's England-centered 1966-1970 period to American audiences. It was never properly remastered for compact disc; the CD track listing is identical to that on the original vinyl, placing sides one and two on disc one and sides three and four on disc two. On August 29, 2020, a remastered release was issued in digital and vinyl formats. The remastering was done by Phil Kinrade at Alchemy Mastering.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs by Ray Davies except \"Death of a Clown\", \"Mindless Child of Motherhood\", and \"Susannah's Still Alive\" by Dave Davies. All catalogue numbers and titles US release except *UK or European release. **Stereo debut of single previously released in mono.\n\nSide one\n\nSide two\n\nSide three\n\nSide four\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nThe Official Ray Davies Web Site\n\nThe Kinks compilation albums\n1972 compilation albums\nReprise Records compilation albums",
"Sindustries is the third album by Swedish melodic death metal band Gardenian. For a time, this was considered Gardenian's last release, as the band broke up in 2004. However, they reunited in 2012 and are working towards a new album. The band's past album, Soulburner, featured Eric Hawk, who did clean vocals, but producer Peter Tägtgren believed that this album did not need a guest clean vocalist, and encouraged Jim Kjell to the clean vocals this time as he had never done so. This is the first and last release with Kriss Albertsson performing. This album also has the band's longest song, \"Selfproclaimed Messiah\".\n\nTrack listing\n \"Selfproclaimed Messiah\" - 8:06\n \"Doom & Gloom\" - 6:34\n \"Long Snap to Zero\" - 6:07\n \"Courageous\" - 4:42\n \"Heartless\" - 6:34\n \"The Suffering\" - 6:21\n \"Scissorfight\" - 5:35\n \"Sonic Death Monkey\" - 5:54\n \"Sindustries\" - 6:51\n \"Funeral\" - 6:20\n\nCredits\nGardenian \n Jim Kjell - vocals, guitars\n Niklas Engelin - guitars\n Kriss Albertsson - bass\n Thim Blom - drums\n\nGuests\n Niklas Sundin - art direction, design\n Lars Szöke - engineer, acoustic guitar\n Peter Tagtgren - keyboards, programming, producing, mixing\n\nGardenian albums\n2000 albums\nAlbums produced by Peter Tägtgren"
] |
[
"Steeleye Span",
"The wilderness years",
"What were the wilderness years?",
"I don't know.",
"Did the band release any albums during this time?",
"The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years"
] |
C_349bf1761ad746e69d2b01c2479570cf_0
|
what caused the bands output to drop so sharply?
| 3 |
what caused Steeleye Span's output to drop so sharply?
|
Steeleye Span
|
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring. After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although their recording of "Blackleg Miner" (previously an obscure song from an 1844 strike) became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984-5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which put greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs. In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come. Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey of Gillan, easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moire Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section. Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin" that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992, the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well. CANNOTANSWER
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Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together.
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Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Along with Fairport Convention, they are among the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved significant sales of "All Around My Hat".
Throughout their history, Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes. Their typical album is a collection of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.
History
Early years
Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born bass player Ashley Hutchings departed Fairport Convention, the band he had co-founded in 1967. Fairport had been involved in a road accident in 1969 in which the drummer, Martin Lamble, and Richard Thompson's girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn, were killed and other band members injured. The survivors convalesced in a rented house near Winchester in Hampshire and worked on the album Liege & Lief. Despite the success of the album, Ashley Hutchings and the band's vocalist Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention.
In part, Hutchings departed because he wanted to pursue a different, more traditional, direction than the other members of Fairport did at that time. However, Fairport's co-founder, guitarist Simon Nicol, stated "Whatever the upfront reasons about musical differences and wanting to concentrate on traditional material, I think the accident was the underlying reason why Ashley felt he couldn't continue with us."
Hutchings' new band was formed after he met established duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on the London folk club scene, and the initial line-up was completed by husband and wife team Terry Woods (formerly of Sweeney's Men, later of The Pogues) and Gay Woods. The name Steeleye Span comes from a character in the traditional song "Horkstow Grange" (which they did not actually record until they released an album by that name in 1998). The song gives an account of a fight between John "Steeleye" Span and John Bowlin, neither of whom is proven to have been a real person. Martin Carthy gave Hart the idea to name the band after the song character. When the band discussed names, they decided to choose among the three suggestions "Middlemarch Wait", "Iyubidin's Wait", and "Steeleye Span". Although there were only five members in the band, six ballots appeared and "Steeleye Span" won. Only in 1978 did Hart confess that he had voted twice. The liner notes for their first album include thanks to Carthy for the name suggestion.
With two female singers, the original line-up was unusual for the time, and indeed, never performed live, as the Woodses departed the band shortly after the release of the group's debut album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970). While recording the album, the five members were all living in the same house, an arrangement that produced considerable tensions particularly between Hart and Prior on the one hand and the Woodses on the other. Terry Woods maintains that the members had agreed that if more than one person departed, the remaining members would select a new name, and he was upset that this did not happen when he and Gay Woods left the band. Gay and Terry were replaced by veteran folk musician Martin Carthy and fiddler Peter Knight in a longer-term line-up that toured small concert venues, recorded a number of BBC Radio Sessions, and recorded two albums – Please to See the King (1971) and Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971). While the first album was traditionally performed – guitars, bass and with two guest drummers – Please to See the King was revolutionary in its hard electric sound and lack of drums.
In 1971, the then Steeleye Span line-up minus Maddy Prior contributed to two songs on Scottish folk musician Ray Fisher's album The Bonny Birdy; Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings were also involved in the selection and arrangement of some songs released on this album, whilst Ashley Hutchings wrote the sleeve notes. Furthermore, Martin Carthy and Peter Knight performed on four songs released on Roy Bailey's eponymous debut album in 1971.
A new direction
Shortly after the release of their third album, the band brought in manager Jo Lustig, who brought a more commercial sound to their recordings. At that time, traditionalists Carthy and Hutchings left the band to pursue purely folk projects. Their replacements were electric guitarist Bob Johnson and bass player Rick Kemp, who brought strong rock and blues influences to the sound. Rick Kemp subsequently married Maddy Prior and they had two children before divorcing. Their daughter Rose Kemp and their son Alex (who performs as Kemp) both followed their parents into the music industry.
Lustig signed them to the Chrysalis record label, for a deal that was to last for ten albums.
With the release of their fourth album, Below the Salt, later in 1972, the revised line-up had settled on a distinctive electrified rock sound, although they continued to play mostly arrangements of very traditional material, including songs dating back a hundred years or more. Even on the more commercial Parcel of Rogues (1973), the band had no permanent drummer but, in 1973, rock drummer Nigel Pegrum, who had previously recorded with Gnidrolog, The Small Faces and Uriah Heep, joined them, to harden up their sound (as well as occasionally playing flute and oboe).
Also that year the single "Gaudete" from Below the Salt became a Christmas hit single, reaching number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, although, being an a cappella piece, taken from the late renaissance song collection Piae Cantiones from Finland and sung entirely in Latin, this can neither be considered representative of the band's music, nor of the album from which it was taken. This proved to be their commercial breakthrough and saw them performing on Top of the Pops for the first time. They often include it as a concert encore. Their popularity was also helped by the fact that they often performed as an opening act for fellow Chrysalis artists Jethro Tull.
Their sixth album (and sixth member Pegrum's first with the band) was entitled Now We Are Six. Produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, the album includes the epic track "Thomas the Rhymer", which has been a part of the live set ever since. Although successful, the album is controversial among some fans for the inclusion of nursery rhymes sung by "The St. Eeleye School Choir" (band members singing in the style of children), and the cover of "To Know Him Is to Love Him", featuring a guest appearance from David Bowie on saxophone.
The attempts at humour continued on Commoners Crown (1975), which included Peter Sellers playing electric ukulele on the final track, "New York Girls". Their seventh album also included the epic ballad "Long Lankin" and novelty instrumental "Bach Goes To Limerick".
Mike Batt era
With their star now conspicuously ascendant, the band brought in producer Mike Batt to work on their eighth album, All Around My Hat, and their biggest success would come with the release of the title track as a single – it reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1975. The single was also released in other European countries and gave them a breakthrough in the Netherlands and Germany. Other well-known tracks on the album included "Black Jack Davy" (sampled by rappers Goldie Lookin Chain on their track "The Maggot") and the rocky "Hard Times of Old England". While All Around My Hat was the height of the band's commercial success, the good times were not to last long. Despite touring almost every year since 1975, they have not had another hit single, nor any success in the album chart, since the late 1970s.
The follow-up album, Rocket Cottage (1976), also produced by Batt, proved to be a commercial flop, despite having much in common musically with its predecessor. The opening track, "London", was penned by Rick Kemp as a follow-up to "All Around My Hat", in response to a request from the record label that Kemp describes as "we'll have another one of those, please", and released as a single. The song failed to make the UK Chart, in complete contrast to "All Around My Hat", despite having much in common – a 12/8 time signature, upbeat tempo, solo verses and full harmony chorus. Rocket Cottage also included the experimental track "Fighting for Strangers" (with sparse vocals singing concurrently in a variety of keys) and, on the final track, excerpts of studio banter between the band members and a seemingly impromptu rendition of "Camptown Races", in which Prior gets the lyrics wrong.
At the time of their seventh album, Commoners Crown, the advent of punk saw the mainstream market turning away from folk rock almost overnight, heralding a downturn in commercial fortunes for the band. However, as a thank you to their committed fans (and also possibly to garner some publicity for their underperforming album), Steeleye Span showered attendees of a November 1976 concert in London with £8,500 in pound notes (then equivalent to US$13,600). The unannounced idea was Maddy Prior's and, remarkably, no-one was injured in the rush to grab the falling notes. Indeed, contemporary press reports indicated that it took some time for the crowd to even realise what was happening. Thanks to their connection with Mike Batt, band members appeared in Womble costumes on Top of the Pops, performing the Wombles hit "Superwomble".
Late 1970s and early 1980s
While they would never regain the commercial success of All Around My Hat, Steeleye remained popular among British folk rock fans and generally respected within the music industry. It has been widely reported that Peter Knight and Bob Johnson left the band to work on another project together, The King of Elfland's Daughter. The actual situation was more complex. Chrysalis Records agreed to allow Knight and Johnson to work on "King" only as a way to persuade the duo to continue working with Steeleye. Since the record company had no interest in "King" for its own sake, it made no effort to market the album. Chrysalis' ploy failed, however, and Knight and Johnson quit.
Their departure left a significant hole in the band. For the 1977 album, Storm Force Ten, early member Martin Carthy rejoined on guitar. When he originally joined the band for their second album, Carthy had tried to persuade the others to bring John Kirkpatrick on board but the band had chosen Knight instead. This time, Carthy's suggestion was accepted and Kirkpatrick's accordion replaced Knight's fiddle, which gave the recording a very different texture from the Steeleye sound of previous years. Kirkpatrick's one-man morris dances quickly became one of the highlights of the band's show. This line-up also recorded their first album outside of the studio, Live at Last, before a "split" at the end of the decade that proved to be short-lived. Carthy and Kirkpatrick had only intended to play with the band for a few months and had no interest in a longer association.
During 1977 and some time thereafter, Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp created a "porno punk" band called The Pork Dukes, using pseudonyms. The Pork Dukes released several albums and singles over the years.
The band were contractually obliged to record a final album for the Chrysalis label and, with Carthy and Kirkpatrick not wanting to rejoin the re-formed band, the door was open for Knight and Johnson to return, in 1980. The album Sails of Silver saw the band moving away from traditional material to a greater focus on self-penned songs, many with historical or pseudo-folk themes. Sails was not a commercial success, in part because Chrysalis chose not to promote the album aggressively but also because many fans felt uncomfortable with the band's new direction in its choice of material. The failure of the album left Hart unhappy enough that he decided to leave the band and give up commercial music entirely, in favour of a reclusive life overseas.
After Sails of Silver there were to be no new albums for several years, and Steeleye became a part-time touring band. The other members spent much of their time and energy working on their various other projects and the band went into a fitful hibernation. "Sails of Silver" was used as a theme song for the science fiction literary show "Hour of The Wolf", on NYC radio station WBAI 99.5FM since the 1980s. This introduced many younger US listeners to the band.
In 1981 Isla St Clair presented a series of four television programmes, called "The Song and The Story", about the history of some folk songs, which won the Prix Jeunesse. St Clair sang the songs, and The Maddy Prior Band did the backing instrumentals.
Wilderness years
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring.
After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although they covered "Blackleg Miner" (a composition to support a 1844 strike revised many times by folk artists in the 20th century) to show solidarity with striking miners. Some argued this became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984–5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which some claim puts greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs .
In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come.
Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey (most recently of rock band Gillan), easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moiré Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section.
Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin", that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992 the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well.
Maddy 'leaves the bus'
In 1995 almost all the past and present members of the band reunited for a concert to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the band (which would later be released as The Journey). The only former members not present were founding members Terry Woods, Mark Williamson, and Chris Staines.
A by-product of this gig was founding vocalist Gay Woods rejoining the band full-time, partly because Prior was experiencing vocal problems and, for a while, Steeleye toured with two female singers and released the album Time 1996, their first new studio album in seven years.
There were doubts over the future of the band when Prior announced her departure, in 1997, but Steeleye continued in a more productive vein than for many years, with Woods as lead singer, releasing Horkstow Grange (1998), and then Bedlam Born (2000). Fans of Steeleye's "rock" element felt that Horkstow Grange was too quiet and folk-oriented, while fans of the band's "folk" element complained that Bedlam Born was too rock-heavy. Woods received considerable criticism from fans, many of whom did not realise that she was one of the founding members and who compared her singing style unfavourably to Prior's. There was also disagreement among the band about what material to perform; Woods advocated performing old favourites such as "All Around My Hat" and "Alison Gross", while Johnson favoured a set that emphasised their newer material.
Liam Genockey had also left the band in 1997 and, on these albums, the drum kit was manned by Dave Mattacks, who was not an official member of the band.
Breakup and comeback
Reported difficulties among band members saw a split during the recording of Bedlam Born. Woods reportedly was uncomfortable with the financial arrangements of the band, health problems forced Johnson into retirement, and drummer Dave Mattacks' period as an unofficial member came to an end. Rick Kemp resumed playing with the band as a guest replacing Bob Johnson for the Bedlam Born tour, with Harries switching to lead guitar. Woods then left after this tour.
For a while the band consisted of just Peter Knight and Tim Harries, plus various guest musicians, as they fulfilled live commitments. This was an uncertain time for the future of the band, and when Harries announced he was not keen to continue his role, even the willingness of Kemp to return to the line-up full-time was not enough to prevent an 18 month hiatus while Peter Knight and the bands manager, John Dagnell, considered whether it was worth continuing.
In 2002 Steeleye Span reformed with a "classic" line-up (including Prior), bringing an end to the uncertainty of the previous couple of years. Knight hosted a poll on his website, asking the band's fans which Steeleye songs they would most want to see the band re-record. Armed with the results, Knight persuaded Prior and Genockey to rejoin, coaxed Johnson out of a health-induced retirement and, along with Kemp and Knight, they released Present—The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002), a 2-disc set of new recordings of the songs.
Bob Johnson's health issues prevented him from playing live, shortly before the 2002 comeback tour, and he was replaced at the eleventh hour on guitar by Ken Nicol, formerly of the Albion Band. Nicol had been talking with Rick Kemp about forming a band, when Kemp invited him to play for the tour and this was to herald a significant return to form for the band.
Ken Nicol years
A revitalised lineup consisting of Prior, Kemp, Knight, Genockey and newcomer Ken Nicol released the album They Called Her Babylon early in 2004, to considerable acclaim. The band extensively toured the UK, Europe and Australia, and their relatively prolific output continued with the release of the Christmas album Winter later the same year, as the band ended a busy year of touring with a gala performance in London's Palladium theatre. In 2005 Steeleye Span were awarded the Good Tradition Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, while the 2005 book, Electric Folk by Britta Sweers devotes much space to the band.
With a new sense of purpose and a stable line-up, the band carried out a UK tour in April and May 2006, followed by dates in Europe and an appearance at the 2006 Cropredy Festival, where they were the headline act on the opening night. The set started with "Bonny Black Hare" and finished with "All Around My Hat", with backing vocals from the Cropredy Crowd. The full play list is at Crop Log 2006. The tour was supported by a live album and DVD of their 2004 tour.
In November 2006 Steeleye released their studio album Bloody Men. Their Autumn/Winter tour started on 24 November 2006 in Basingstoke and ran until just before Christmas. They headlined at their namesake festival, Spanfest 2007 at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk from 27 to 29 July 2007, and returned for Spanfest 2008. However, as Kentwell Hall declined to hold the festival again, it was held at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire. A UK tour took place between 17 April and 16 May 2008.
For their 40th anniversary tour, in 2009, Pete Zorn joined the line-up on bass, as Rick Kemp was unwell. Kemp and Zorn both toured with the band for the winter tour that year, with Zorn playing guitar, and Kemp announced that he would be retiring at the end of the tour – a decision he later reversed, as usual.
Live at a Distance, a live double CD and DVD set, was released in April 2009 by Park Records, and their new studio album entitled Cogs, Wheels & Lovers was released on 26 October 2009. Several tracks from this album featured in the sets of the autumn tour.
Founding member Tim Hart died on 24 December 2009, at his home in La Gomera on the Canary Islands, at the age of 61, after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Now We Are Six Again / Wintersmith
In June 2010 Ken Nicol announced that he was leaving Steeleye and the band reassembled for a Spring 2011 tour, with Julian Littman joining the line-up as guitarist, replacing Nicol. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn also continued to play with the band, making them a six-piece for the first time in many years.
In 2011 they released Now We Are Six again, a live double album based on their set at the time, which included full performances of all the songs on their 1974 Now we are Six album.
In October 2013 the band released their 22nd studio album, Wintersmith, containing original songs based on the writings of Terry Pratchett. This was followed by a winter tour of the UK. This album marked a return to form and media attention as the album reached number 77 in the UK Albums Chart, had tracks played on BBC Radio 2 and led to various radio and TV interviews for Terry Pratchett and Maddy Prior as they promoted the album.
Following Pratchett's death, in March 2015, the band made an appearance at the memorial service for him, in April 2016, at Barbican Centre, London.
Peter Knight leaves / Dodgy Bastards album
In November 2013 Peter Knight announced that he would be leaving Steeleye Span at the end of 2013. He was replaced by Jessie May Smart. The band continued to tour regularly and recorded four new tracks for the 2014 'Deluxe' re-release of the Wintersmith album.
In the summer of 2015 they toured North America, with a reduced line up consisting of Prior, Littman, Smart, Genockey and, for the first time, Maddy's son, Alex Kemp, on bass, replacing his father, Rick. An autumn/winter tour of the UK followed with Rick Kemp back in the line-up, along with Andrew 'Spud' Sinclair, replacing Pete Zorn.
In April 2016 Pete Zorn was diagnosed with advanced lung and brain cancer. He died on 19 April.
Andrew Sinclair joined the band permanently in 2016 and the line up toured in October 2016 and announced the release of a new studio album, Dodgy Bastards, in November. The album is a mixture of original compositions, traditional songs and original tunes put to traditional lyrics.
Present day / 50th anniversary
After completing the 'Dodgy Bastards' tour, Rick Kemp retired and has been replaced by Roger Carey, on bass. For the November/December 2017 tour the band was joined by multi-instrumentalist and ex-Bellowhead member Benji Kirkpatrick. Benji is son of former Steeleye Span member, John Kirkpatrick. This seven-piece line-up, the first in the band's history, has continued to tour. 2019 was the band's 50th anniversary year and a new album was released to celebrate the anniversary: Est'd 1969. The band undertook two "50th Anniversary" tours in 2019, in Spring and November. The band played the 'Fields of Avalon' area at the Glastonbury Festival 2019, were the closing act at the Cornbury Music Festival 2019 and even made their debut in Russia at a folk festival called Chasti Sveta (Части света, Parts of the World), in Saint Petersburg. On 17 December they appeared at the Barbican Theatre, in London, with special guests and previous band members Peter Knight, Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. For the November/December 2022 tour, with Jessie May Smart on maternity leave, Violeta Vicci joined the band, on violin. Benji Kirkpatrick left the band in early 2022.
Examples of collaborations
Prior sang backing vocals on the title track of Jethro Tull's 1976 album Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die, the song "Salamander's Rag-Time" from the same session and their 1978 single "A Stitch In Time". Later, members of Jethro Tull backed Prior on her album Woman in the Wings. Ray Fisher's rare 1972 album Bonny Birdy includes one track with the High Level Ranters, one with Steeleye Span, and one with Martin Carthy.
Until the 1990s Steeleye often toured as part of a double bill, either supporting Status Quo, or featuring support from artists such as Rock Salt & Nails and The Rankin Family. When Steeleye Span supported Status Quo on tour, in 1996, the latter had just issued their version of "All Around My Hat" as a single. "The video was filmed at Christmas," Prior recalled. "We'd supported them, and I found myself down in the mosh pit. Francis saw me and told the audience, 'Oh look, there's a Maddy lookalike down there… Fuck me, it is Maddy!' I was hoyed over the barrier [to the stage], to join them for the encore. It was all very jolly." Status Quo's single is credited to "Status Quo with Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span" and reached number 47 in the charts.
Discography
Studio albums
Hark! The Village Wait (1970)
Please to See the King (1971)
Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971)
Below the Salt (1972)
Parcel of Rogues (1973)
Now We Are Six (1974)
Commoners Crown (1975)
All Around My Hat (1975)
Rocket Cottage (1976)
Storm Force Ten (1977)
Sails of Silver (1980)
Back in Line (1986)
Tempted and Tried (1989)
Time (1996)
Horkstow Grange (1998)
Bedlam Born (2000)
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002)
They Called Her Babylon (2004)
Winter (2004)
Bloody Men (2006)
Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009)
Wintersmith (2013)
Dodgy Bastards (2016)
Est'd 1969 (2019)
Lost recordings
In 1995 Steeleye recorded "The Golden Vanity" for the Time album, but it did not appear on it. It was released on the anthology The Best of British Folk Rock. Similarly they recorded "General Taylor" for Ten Man Mop but the song did not appear on it. It resurfaced on the compilation album Individually and Collectively instead. It was also included in another compilation The Lark in The Morning (2006), as well as re-issues of Ten Man Mop. "Bonny Moorhen" was recorded at the time of the Parcel of Rogues session. It appears, however, on the compilation album Original Masters, and is also packaged as part of A Parcel of Steeleye Span. The song "Somewhere in London", recorded for Back in Line (1986) was released instead as a B-side single, but returned to its proper place "Back in Line" when the album was reissued in 1991. "Staring Robin", a song about a man described by Tim Harries as an "Elizabethan psycho", was recorded during the Bedlam Born (2000) sessions, but it was left off the final album as it was deemed by Park Records to be too disturbing.
The track "The Holly and the Ivy" was released as the B-side of the Gaudete single and did not appear on any album. It was later released on the 'Steeleye Span: A rare collection' oddities compilation. Several Steeleye songs have never been recorded for a studio album and have only been made available in their live versions, including several tracks on 'Live at Last' and 'Tonight's the night... Live'.
Personnel
Members
Current members
Maddy Prior – vocals
Liam Genockey – drums, percussion
Andrew "Spud" Sinclair – guitars
Julian Littman – guitars
Jessie May Smart – violin
Roger Carey – bass
Violeta Vicci –
Former members
Tim Hart – guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, vocals
Ashley Hutchings – bass
Gay Woods – vocals, bodhran
Terry Woods – guitars, concertina, vocals
Martin Carthy – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Bob Johnson – guitars, vocals
Nigel Pegrum – drums, percussion, flute
John Kirkpatrick – accordion, vocals
Mark Williamson – bass
Chris Staines – bass
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
Tim Harries – bass, piano, guitars, vocals
Michael Gregory – drums, percussion
Terl Bryant – drums, percussion
Ken Nicol – guitars, vocals
Peter Knight – strings, keyboards, guitars, vocals
Pete Zorn – guitars, woodwind
Rick Kemp – bass, drums, vocals
Benji Kirkpatrick – bouzouki, banjo, vocals
Lineups
Timeline
Notes and references
Sources
External links
Official website
Steeleye Span's record label
1969 establishments in England
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Ashley Hutchings
British folk rock groups
Chrysalis Records artists
English folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1969
RCA Records artists
United Artists Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups
| true |
[
"In electronics, sense is a technique used in power supplies to produce the correct voltage for a load. Although simple batteries naturally maintain a steady voltage (except in cases of large internal impedance), a power supply must use a feedback system to make adjustments based on the difference between its intended output and its actual output. If this system is working, the latter will be very close to the former.\n\nTwo types of sense are used, depending on where the power supply output is measured. In local sense, the supply simply measures the voltage at its output terminals, where the leads to the load connect. This method has the problem of not accounting for the voltage drop due to resistance of the leads, which is proportional to the amount of current drawn by the load. That is, the supply might be producing the correct voltage at its output terminals, but there will be a lower voltage at the input terminals of the load.\n\nWhen this might cause a problem, remote sense can be used to force the power supply to counteract the voltage drop by raising the voltage at its output terminals. If successful, it will exactly cancel the drop along the leads, yielding the correct voltage at the input terminals of the load. This is accomplished by using separate \"sense leads,\" connected to the load's input terminals, to measure the output voltage. (Because the sensing function draws only a very small amount of current, there is practically no additional voltage drop due to the sense leads themselves.) This is the same principle behind 4-wire sensing, the generic equivalent to power supply remote sensing.\n\nMany power supplies that are equipped with remote sense can cause catastrophic damage to the loads if they are turned on while the sense leads are unconnected. To avoid this, some supplies are equipped with auto sense, which will automatically switch between local and remote sensing depending on whether the sense leads are correctly connected.\n\nSee also\n Sensor\n\nExternal links\nNasaTech Article On Sense\nAre Power Supplies Universal?\n\nPower supplies\nta:மின்னணு உணர்வு",
"Crossover distortion is a type of distortion which is caused by switching between devices driving a load. It is most commonly seen in complementary, or \"push-pull\", Class-B amplifier stages, although it is occasionally seen in other types of circuits as well.\n\nThe term crossover signifies the \"crossing over\" of the signal between devices, in this case, from the upper transistor to the lower and vice versa. The term is not related to the audio loudspeaker crossover filter—a filtering circuit which divides an audio signal into frequency bands to drive separate drivers in multiway speakers.\n\nDistortion mechanism\n\nThe image shows a typical class-B emitter-follower complementary output stage. Under no signal conditions, the output is exactly midway between the supplies (i.e., at 0 V). When this is the case, the base-emitter bias of both the transistors is zero, so they are in the cut-off region where the transistors are not conducting.\n\nConsider a positive-going swing: As long as the input is less than the required forward VBE drop (≈ 0.65 V) of the upper NPN transistor, it will remain off or conduct very little. This is the same as a diode operation as far as the base circuit is concerned, and the output voltage does not follow the input (the lower PNP transistor is still off because its base-emitter diode is being reverse biased by the positive-going input). The same applies for the lower transistor but for a negative-going input. Thus, between about ±0.65 V of input, the output voltage is not a true replica or amplified version of the input, and we can see that as a \"kink\" in the output waveform near 0 V (or where one transistor stops conducting and the other starts). This kink is the most pronounced form of crossover distortion, and it becomes more evident and intrusive when the output voltage swing is reduced.\n\nLess pronounced forms of distortion may be observed in this circuit as well. An emitter-follower will have a voltage gain of just under 1. In the circuit shown, the NPN emitter-follower and the PNP emitter-follower will generally have very slightly different voltage gains, leading to slightly different gains above and below ground. Other more subtle forms of crossover distortion, stemming from slight differences between the PNP and NPN devices, exist as well.\n\nPossible solutions\nIn the case of a class B/AB amplifier, crossover distortion can be reduced by using a slight forward bias in the base circuit such that the transistors are idling at a small output current. The forward bias causes the circuit to operate in class-AB mode, so both transistors are slightly on during crossover. This can reduce or eliminate the characteristic kink of crossover distortion, although other types of crossover distortion will remain.\n\nAs with most kinds of distortion, another way in which crossover distortion can be reduced is through the use of feedback. By comparing the output to the desired output, and adjusting the input to correct for any error, we can significantly reduce distortion. This may be done with an operational amplifier, as shown below, or with a discrete circuit.\n\nIn the example shown, the operational amplifier is used to reduce the distortion of a push-pull pair. Op-amps are differential voltage amplifiers with very high gain (sometimes modeled as infinite gain). In an ideal model, the output of the op amp is held such that both inputs of the op amp must be at exactly the same voltage. In this case, since the inverting input is directly connected to the output, the voltage at the non-inverting input is always equal to the voltage at the output and inverting input, hence eliminating distortion. With a more precise model of an operational amplifier (with non-infinite gain) distortion is reduced by a factor equal to the gain of the op amp.\n\nMost modern power amplifiers (including those used in hi-fi) employ both techniques, using both class-AB in their output stages, and feedback, offering reasonable efficiency and good distortion figures.\n\nSee also\nElectronic amplifier\n\nElectronic amplifiers\nAudio amplifier specifications\n\nde:Verstärker (Elektrotechnik)#Verzerrungen"
] |
[
"Steeleye Span",
"The wilderness years",
"What were the wilderness years?",
"I don't know.",
"Did the band release any albums during this time?",
"The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years",
"what caused the bands output to drop so sharply?",
"Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together."
] |
C_349bf1761ad746e69d2b01c2479570cf_0
|
what was the name of an album produced during this time?
| 4 |
what was the name of an album produced by Steeleye Span during the wilderness years?
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Steeleye Span
|
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring. After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although their recording of "Blackleg Miner" (previously an obscure song from an 1844 strike) became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984-5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which put greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs. In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come. Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey of Gillan, easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moire Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section. Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin" that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992, the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well. CANNOTANSWER
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Back in Line
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Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Along with Fairport Convention, they are among the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved significant sales of "All Around My Hat".
Throughout their history, Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes. Their typical album is a collection of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.
History
Early years
Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born bass player Ashley Hutchings departed Fairport Convention, the band he had co-founded in 1967. Fairport had been involved in a road accident in 1969 in which the drummer, Martin Lamble, and Richard Thompson's girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn, were killed and other band members injured. The survivors convalesced in a rented house near Winchester in Hampshire and worked on the album Liege & Lief. Despite the success of the album, Ashley Hutchings and the band's vocalist Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention.
In part, Hutchings departed because he wanted to pursue a different, more traditional, direction than the other members of Fairport did at that time. However, Fairport's co-founder, guitarist Simon Nicol, stated "Whatever the upfront reasons about musical differences and wanting to concentrate on traditional material, I think the accident was the underlying reason why Ashley felt he couldn't continue with us."
Hutchings' new band was formed after he met established duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on the London folk club scene, and the initial line-up was completed by husband and wife team Terry Woods (formerly of Sweeney's Men, later of The Pogues) and Gay Woods. The name Steeleye Span comes from a character in the traditional song "Horkstow Grange" (which they did not actually record until they released an album by that name in 1998). The song gives an account of a fight between John "Steeleye" Span and John Bowlin, neither of whom is proven to have been a real person. Martin Carthy gave Hart the idea to name the band after the song character. When the band discussed names, they decided to choose among the three suggestions "Middlemarch Wait", "Iyubidin's Wait", and "Steeleye Span". Although there were only five members in the band, six ballots appeared and "Steeleye Span" won. Only in 1978 did Hart confess that he had voted twice. The liner notes for their first album include thanks to Carthy for the name suggestion.
With two female singers, the original line-up was unusual for the time, and indeed, never performed live, as the Woodses departed the band shortly after the release of the group's debut album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970). While recording the album, the five members were all living in the same house, an arrangement that produced considerable tensions particularly between Hart and Prior on the one hand and the Woodses on the other. Terry Woods maintains that the members had agreed that if more than one person departed, the remaining members would select a new name, and he was upset that this did not happen when he and Gay Woods left the band. Gay and Terry were replaced by veteran folk musician Martin Carthy and fiddler Peter Knight in a longer-term line-up that toured small concert venues, recorded a number of BBC Radio Sessions, and recorded two albums – Please to See the King (1971) and Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971). While the first album was traditionally performed – guitars, bass and with two guest drummers – Please to See the King was revolutionary in its hard electric sound and lack of drums.
In 1971, the then Steeleye Span line-up minus Maddy Prior contributed to two songs on Scottish folk musician Ray Fisher's album The Bonny Birdy; Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings were also involved in the selection and arrangement of some songs released on this album, whilst Ashley Hutchings wrote the sleeve notes. Furthermore, Martin Carthy and Peter Knight performed on four songs released on Roy Bailey's eponymous debut album in 1971.
A new direction
Shortly after the release of their third album, the band brought in manager Jo Lustig, who brought a more commercial sound to their recordings. At that time, traditionalists Carthy and Hutchings left the band to pursue purely folk projects. Their replacements were electric guitarist Bob Johnson and bass player Rick Kemp, who brought strong rock and blues influences to the sound. Rick Kemp subsequently married Maddy Prior and they had two children before divorcing. Their daughter Rose Kemp and their son Alex (who performs as Kemp) both followed their parents into the music industry.
Lustig signed them to the Chrysalis record label, for a deal that was to last for ten albums.
With the release of their fourth album, Below the Salt, later in 1972, the revised line-up had settled on a distinctive electrified rock sound, although they continued to play mostly arrangements of very traditional material, including songs dating back a hundred years or more. Even on the more commercial Parcel of Rogues (1973), the band had no permanent drummer but, in 1973, rock drummer Nigel Pegrum, who had previously recorded with Gnidrolog, The Small Faces and Uriah Heep, joined them, to harden up their sound (as well as occasionally playing flute and oboe).
Also that year the single "Gaudete" from Below the Salt became a Christmas hit single, reaching number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, although, being an a cappella piece, taken from the late renaissance song collection Piae Cantiones from Finland and sung entirely in Latin, this can neither be considered representative of the band's music, nor of the album from which it was taken. This proved to be their commercial breakthrough and saw them performing on Top of the Pops for the first time. They often include it as a concert encore. Their popularity was also helped by the fact that they often performed as an opening act for fellow Chrysalis artists Jethro Tull.
Their sixth album (and sixth member Pegrum's first with the band) was entitled Now We Are Six. Produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, the album includes the epic track "Thomas the Rhymer", which has been a part of the live set ever since. Although successful, the album is controversial among some fans for the inclusion of nursery rhymes sung by "The St. Eeleye School Choir" (band members singing in the style of children), and the cover of "To Know Him Is to Love Him", featuring a guest appearance from David Bowie on saxophone.
The attempts at humour continued on Commoners Crown (1975), which included Peter Sellers playing electric ukulele on the final track, "New York Girls". Their seventh album also included the epic ballad "Long Lankin" and novelty instrumental "Bach Goes To Limerick".
Mike Batt era
With their star now conspicuously ascendant, the band brought in producer Mike Batt to work on their eighth album, All Around My Hat, and their biggest success would come with the release of the title track as a single – it reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1975. The single was also released in other European countries and gave them a breakthrough in the Netherlands and Germany. Other well-known tracks on the album included "Black Jack Davy" (sampled by rappers Goldie Lookin Chain on their track "The Maggot") and the rocky "Hard Times of Old England". While All Around My Hat was the height of the band's commercial success, the good times were not to last long. Despite touring almost every year since 1975, they have not had another hit single, nor any success in the album chart, since the late 1970s.
The follow-up album, Rocket Cottage (1976), also produced by Batt, proved to be a commercial flop, despite having much in common musically with its predecessor. The opening track, "London", was penned by Rick Kemp as a follow-up to "All Around My Hat", in response to a request from the record label that Kemp describes as "we'll have another one of those, please", and released as a single. The song failed to make the UK Chart, in complete contrast to "All Around My Hat", despite having much in common – a 12/8 time signature, upbeat tempo, solo verses and full harmony chorus. Rocket Cottage also included the experimental track "Fighting for Strangers" (with sparse vocals singing concurrently in a variety of keys) and, on the final track, excerpts of studio banter between the band members and a seemingly impromptu rendition of "Camptown Races", in which Prior gets the lyrics wrong.
At the time of their seventh album, Commoners Crown, the advent of punk saw the mainstream market turning away from folk rock almost overnight, heralding a downturn in commercial fortunes for the band. However, as a thank you to their committed fans (and also possibly to garner some publicity for their underperforming album), Steeleye Span showered attendees of a November 1976 concert in London with £8,500 in pound notes (then equivalent to US$13,600). The unannounced idea was Maddy Prior's and, remarkably, no-one was injured in the rush to grab the falling notes. Indeed, contemporary press reports indicated that it took some time for the crowd to even realise what was happening. Thanks to their connection with Mike Batt, band members appeared in Womble costumes on Top of the Pops, performing the Wombles hit "Superwomble".
Late 1970s and early 1980s
While they would never regain the commercial success of All Around My Hat, Steeleye remained popular among British folk rock fans and generally respected within the music industry. It has been widely reported that Peter Knight and Bob Johnson left the band to work on another project together, The King of Elfland's Daughter. The actual situation was more complex. Chrysalis Records agreed to allow Knight and Johnson to work on "King" only as a way to persuade the duo to continue working with Steeleye. Since the record company had no interest in "King" for its own sake, it made no effort to market the album. Chrysalis' ploy failed, however, and Knight and Johnson quit.
Their departure left a significant hole in the band. For the 1977 album, Storm Force Ten, early member Martin Carthy rejoined on guitar. When he originally joined the band for their second album, Carthy had tried to persuade the others to bring John Kirkpatrick on board but the band had chosen Knight instead. This time, Carthy's suggestion was accepted and Kirkpatrick's accordion replaced Knight's fiddle, which gave the recording a very different texture from the Steeleye sound of previous years. Kirkpatrick's one-man morris dances quickly became one of the highlights of the band's show. This line-up also recorded their first album outside of the studio, Live at Last, before a "split" at the end of the decade that proved to be short-lived. Carthy and Kirkpatrick had only intended to play with the band for a few months and had no interest in a longer association.
During 1977 and some time thereafter, Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp created a "porno punk" band called The Pork Dukes, using pseudonyms. The Pork Dukes released several albums and singles over the years.
The band were contractually obliged to record a final album for the Chrysalis label and, with Carthy and Kirkpatrick not wanting to rejoin the re-formed band, the door was open for Knight and Johnson to return, in 1980. The album Sails of Silver saw the band moving away from traditional material to a greater focus on self-penned songs, many with historical or pseudo-folk themes. Sails was not a commercial success, in part because Chrysalis chose not to promote the album aggressively but also because many fans felt uncomfortable with the band's new direction in its choice of material. The failure of the album left Hart unhappy enough that he decided to leave the band and give up commercial music entirely, in favour of a reclusive life overseas.
After Sails of Silver there were to be no new albums for several years, and Steeleye became a part-time touring band. The other members spent much of their time and energy working on their various other projects and the band went into a fitful hibernation. "Sails of Silver" was used as a theme song for the science fiction literary show "Hour of The Wolf", on NYC radio station WBAI 99.5FM since the 1980s. This introduced many younger US listeners to the band.
In 1981 Isla St Clair presented a series of four television programmes, called "The Song and The Story", about the history of some folk songs, which won the Prix Jeunesse. St Clair sang the songs, and The Maddy Prior Band did the backing instrumentals.
Wilderness years
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring.
After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although they covered "Blackleg Miner" (a composition to support a 1844 strike revised many times by folk artists in the 20th century) to show solidarity with striking miners. Some argued this became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984–5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which some claim puts greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs .
In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come.
Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey (most recently of rock band Gillan), easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moiré Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section.
Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin", that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992 the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well.
Maddy 'leaves the bus'
In 1995 almost all the past and present members of the band reunited for a concert to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the band (which would later be released as The Journey). The only former members not present were founding members Terry Woods, Mark Williamson, and Chris Staines.
A by-product of this gig was founding vocalist Gay Woods rejoining the band full-time, partly because Prior was experiencing vocal problems and, for a while, Steeleye toured with two female singers and released the album Time 1996, their first new studio album in seven years.
There were doubts over the future of the band when Prior announced her departure, in 1997, but Steeleye continued in a more productive vein than for many years, with Woods as lead singer, releasing Horkstow Grange (1998), and then Bedlam Born (2000). Fans of Steeleye's "rock" element felt that Horkstow Grange was too quiet and folk-oriented, while fans of the band's "folk" element complained that Bedlam Born was too rock-heavy. Woods received considerable criticism from fans, many of whom did not realise that she was one of the founding members and who compared her singing style unfavourably to Prior's. There was also disagreement among the band about what material to perform; Woods advocated performing old favourites such as "All Around My Hat" and "Alison Gross", while Johnson favoured a set that emphasised their newer material.
Liam Genockey had also left the band in 1997 and, on these albums, the drum kit was manned by Dave Mattacks, who was not an official member of the band.
Breakup and comeback
Reported difficulties among band members saw a split during the recording of Bedlam Born. Woods reportedly was uncomfortable with the financial arrangements of the band, health problems forced Johnson into retirement, and drummer Dave Mattacks' period as an unofficial member came to an end. Rick Kemp resumed playing with the band as a guest replacing Bob Johnson for the Bedlam Born tour, with Harries switching to lead guitar. Woods then left after this tour.
For a while the band consisted of just Peter Knight and Tim Harries, plus various guest musicians, as they fulfilled live commitments. This was an uncertain time for the future of the band, and when Harries announced he was not keen to continue his role, even the willingness of Kemp to return to the line-up full-time was not enough to prevent an 18 month hiatus while Peter Knight and the bands manager, John Dagnell, considered whether it was worth continuing.
In 2002 Steeleye Span reformed with a "classic" line-up (including Prior), bringing an end to the uncertainty of the previous couple of years. Knight hosted a poll on his website, asking the band's fans which Steeleye songs they would most want to see the band re-record. Armed with the results, Knight persuaded Prior and Genockey to rejoin, coaxed Johnson out of a health-induced retirement and, along with Kemp and Knight, they released Present—The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002), a 2-disc set of new recordings of the songs.
Bob Johnson's health issues prevented him from playing live, shortly before the 2002 comeback tour, and he was replaced at the eleventh hour on guitar by Ken Nicol, formerly of the Albion Band. Nicol had been talking with Rick Kemp about forming a band, when Kemp invited him to play for the tour and this was to herald a significant return to form for the band.
Ken Nicol years
A revitalised lineup consisting of Prior, Kemp, Knight, Genockey and newcomer Ken Nicol released the album They Called Her Babylon early in 2004, to considerable acclaim. The band extensively toured the UK, Europe and Australia, and their relatively prolific output continued with the release of the Christmas album Winter later the same year, as the band ended a busy year of touring with a gala performance in London's Palladium theatre. In 2005 Steeleye Span were awarded the Good Tradition Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, while the 2005 book, Electric Folk by Britta Sweers devotes much space to the band.
With a new sense of purpose and a stable line-up, the band carried out a UK tour in April and May 2006, followed by dates in Europe and an appearance at the 2006 Cropredy Festival, where they were the headline act on the opening night. The set started with "Bonny Black Hare" and finished with "All Around My Hat", with backing vocals from the Cropredy Crowd. The full play list is at Crop Log 2006. The tour was supported by a live album and DVD of their 2004 tour.
In November 2006 Steeleye released their studio album Bloody Men. Their Autumn/Winter tour started on 24 November 2006 in Basingstoke and ran until just before Christmas. They headlined at their namesake festival, Spanfest 2007 at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk from 27 to 29 July 2007, and returned for Spanfest 2008. However, as Kentwell Hall declined to hold the festival again, it was held at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire. A UK tour took place between 17 April and 16 May 2008.
For their 40th anniversary tour, in 2009, Pete Zorn joined the line-up on bass, as Rick Kemp was unwell. Kemp and Zorn both toured with the band for the winter tour that year, with Zorn playing guitar, and Kemp announced that he would be retiring at the end of the tour – a decision he later reversed, as usual.
Live at a Distance, a live double CD and DVD set, was released in April 2009 by Park Records, and their new studio album entitled Cogs, Wheels & Lovers was released on 26 October 2009. Several tracks from this album featured in the sets of the autumn tour.
Founding member Tim Hart died on 24 December 2009, at his home in La Gomera on the Canary Islands, at the age of 61, after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Now We Are Six Again / Wintersmith
In June 2010 Ken Nicol announced that he was leaving Steeleye and the band reassembled for a Spring 2011 tour, with Julian Littman joining the line-up as guitarist, replacing Nicol. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn also continued to play with the band, making them a six-piece for the first time in many years.
In 2011 they released Now We Are Six again, a live double album based on their set at the time, which included full performances of all the songs on their 1974 Now we are Six album.
In October 2013 the band released their 22nd studio album, Wintersmith, containing original songs based on the writings of Terry Pratchett. This was followed by a winter tour of the UK. This album marked a return to form and media attention as the album reached number 77 in the UK Albums Chart, had tracks played on BBC Radio 2 and led to various radio and TV interviews for Terry Pratchett and Maddy Prior as they promoted the album.
Following Pratchett's death, in March 2015, the band made an appearance at the memorial service for him, in April 2016, at Barbican Centre, London.
Peter Knight leaves / Dodgy Bastards album
In November 2013 Peter Knight announced that he would be leaving Steeleye Span at the end of 2013. He was replaced by Jessie May Smart. The band continued to tour regularly and recorded four new tracks for the 2014 'Deluxe' re-release of the Wintersmith album.
In the summer of 2015 they toured North America, with a reduced line up consisting of Prior, Littman, Smart, Genockey and, for the first time, Maddy's son, Alex Kemp, on bass, replacing his father, Rick. An autumn/winter tour of the UK followed with Rick Kemp back in the line-up, along with Andrew 'Spud' Sinclair, replacing Pete Zorn.
In April 2016 Pete Zorn was diagnosed with advanced lung and brain cancer. He died on 19 April.
Andrew Sinclair joined the band permanently in 2016 and the line up toured in October 2016 and announced the release of a new studio album, Dodgy Bastards, in November. The album is a mixture of original compositions, traditional songs and original tunes put to traditional lyrics.
Present day / 50th anniversary
After completing the 'Dodgy Bastards' tour, Rick Kemp retired and has been replaced by Roger Carey, on bass. For the November/December 2017 tour the band was joined by multi-instrumentalist and ex-Bellowhead member Benji Kirkpatrick. Benji is son of former Steeleye Span member, John Kirkpatrick. This seven-piece line-up, the first in the band's history, has continued to tour. 2019 was the band's 50th anniversary year and a new album was released to celebrate the anniversary: Est'd 1969. The band undertook two "50th Anniversary" tours in 2019, in Spring and November. The band played the 'Fields of Avalon' area at the Glastonbury Festival 2019, were the closing act at the Cornbury Music Festival 2019 and even made their debut in Russia at a folk festival called Chasti Sveta (Части света, Parts of the World), in Saint Petersburg. On 17 December they appeared at the Barbican Theatre, in London, with special guests and previous band members Peter Knight, Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. For the November/December 2022 tour, with Jessie May Smart on maternity leave, Violeta Vicci joined the band, on violin. Benji Kirkpatrick left the band in early 2022.
Examples of collaborations
Prior sang backing vocals on the title track of Jethro Tull's 1976 album Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die, the song "Salamander's Rag-Time" from the same session and their 1978 single "A Stitch In Time". Later, members of Jethro Tull backed Prior on her album Woman in the Wings. Ray Fisher's rare 1972 album Bonny Birdy includes one track with the High Level Ranters, one with Steeleye Span, and one with Martin Carthy.
Until the 1990s Steeleye often toured as part of a double bill, either supporting Status Quo, or featuring support from artists such as Rock Salt & Nails and The Rankin Family. When Steeleye Span supported Status Quo on tour, in 1996, the latter had just issued their version of "All Around My Hat" as a single. "The video was filmed at Christmas," Prior recalled. "We'd supported them, and I found myself down in the mosh pit. Francis saw me and told the audience, 'Oh look, there's a Maddy lookalike down there… Fuck me, it is Maddy!' I was hoyed over the barrier [to the stage], to join them for the encore. It was all very jolly." Status Quo's single is credited to "Status Quo with Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span" and reached number 47 in the charts.
Discography
Studio albums
Hark! The Village Wait (1970)
Please to See the King (1971)
Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971)
Below the Salt (1972)
Parcel of Rogues (1973)
Now We Are Six (1974)
Commoners Crown (1975)
All Around My Hat (1975)
Rocket Cottage (1976)
Storm Force Ten (1977)
Sails of Silver (1980)
Back in Line (1986)
Tempted and Tried (1989)
Time (1996)
Horkstow Grange (1998)
Bedlam Born (2000)
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002)
They Called Her Babylon (2004)
Winter (2004)
Bloody Men (2006)
Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009)
Wintersmith (2013)
Dodgy Bastards (2016)
Est'd 1969 (2019)
Lost recordings
In 1995 Steeleye recorded "The Golden Vanity" for the Time album, but it did not appear on it. It was released on the anthology The Best of British Folk Rock. Similarly they recorded "General Taylor" for Ten Man Mop but the song did not appear on it. It resurfaced on the compilation album Individually and Collectively instead. It was also included in another compilation The Lark in The Morning (2006), as well as re-issues of Ten Man Mop. "Bonny Moorhen" was recorded at the time of the Parcel of Rogues session. It appears, however, on the compilation album Original Masters, and is also packaged as part of A Parcel of Steeleye Span. The song "Somewhere in London", recorded for Back in Line (1986) was released instead as a B-side single, but returned to its proper place "Back in Line" when the album was reissued in 1991. "Staring Robin", a song about a man described by Tim Harries as an "Elizabethan psycho", was recorded during the Bedlam Born (2000) sessions, but it was left off the final album as it was deemed by Park Records to be too disturbing.
The track "The Holly and the Ivy" was released as the B-side of the Gaudete single and did not appear on any album. It was later released on the 'Steeleye Span: A rare collection' oddities compilation. Several Steeleye songs have never been recorded for a studio album and have only been made available in their live versions, including several tracks on 'Live at Last' and 'Tonight's the night... Live'.
Personnel
Members
Current members
Maddy Prior – vocals
Liam Genockey – drums, percussion
Andrew "Spud" Sinclair – guitars
Julian Littman – guitars
Jessie May Smart – violin
Roger Carey – bass
Violeta Vicci –
Former members
Tim Hart – guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, vocals
Ashley Hutchings – bass
Gay Woods – vocals, bodhran
Terry Woods – guitars, concertina, vocals
Martin Carthy – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Bob Johnson – guitars, vocals
Nigel Pegrum – drums, percussion, flute
John Kirkpatrick – accordion, vocals
Mark Williamson – bass
Chris Staines – bass
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
Tim Harries – bass, piano, guitars, vocals
Michael Gregory – drums, percussion
Terl Bryant – drums, percussion
Ken Nicol – guitars, vocals
Peter Knight – strings, keyboards, guitars, vocals
Pete Zorn – guitars, woodwind
Rick Kemp – bass, drums, vocals
Benji Kirkpatrick – bouzouki, banjo, vocals
Lineups
Timeline
Notes and references
Sources
External links
Official website
Steeleye Span's record label
1969 establishments in England
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Ashley Hutchings
British folk rock groups
Chrysalis Records artists
English folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1969
RCA Records artists
United Artists Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups
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[
"\"What's the New Mary Jane\" is a song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and performed by the English rock band the Beatles. It was recorded in 1968 during sessions for the double album The Beatles (also known as \"the White Album\"), but did not appear on that album.\n\nRecording\nAn early acoustic demo of \"What's the New Mary Jane\" was recorded in late May 1968, at George Harrison's Esher home. It featured Lennon singing an octave higher than the final cut, placing the chorus at the very beginning as well as throughout, and switching the words \"cooking\" and \"groovy\" in the second verse:\n\nAs opposed to:\n\nAnother member of the Beatles can also be heard shouting \"What's the new Mary Jane? Oh, my goodness!\" near the end of the demo. This variation is notably shorter than the released version, clocking in at around 2:40.\n\nThe final version of this song was recorded on 14 August 1968 during the recording sessions for the Beatles tenth album The Beatles (aka \"The White Album\"), with Lennon and Harrison being the only band members playing on the track. Four takes were recorded with the final being marked as the best. It was later mixed in mono on 26 September with \"Glass Onion\", \"Happiness Is a Warm Gun\", and \"I Will\" and in stereo on 14 October before being added to the shortlist for the new album. However, during the album's final mixing stage, it was dropped due to time constraints, bringing the album down to 30 songs.\n\nDuring an interview, Lennon commented on \"What's the New Mary Jane\", saying, \"That was me, Yoko, and George sitting on the floor at EMI fooling around. Pretty good, huh?\"\n\nRelease\nAfter the release of The Beatles, Lennon was still adamant about releasing the song. On 26 November 1969, he and his wife Yoko Ono recorded further overdubs with plans for it to be issued as a single by the Plastic Ono Band alongside another unreleased song at the time, \"You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)\", which was eventually issued as the B-side of the Beatles' \"Let It Be\" single in 1970. When the other Beatles heard of his plans to release a Beatle track under his own band's name, however, the single was pulled. The song was remixed for inclusion on the album Sessions in 1985, but the album was never released due to objections by the surviving Beatles. The song, more than six minutes long, was not made available until 1996, on Anthology 3. The much shorter first take of the song, without the sound effects added by Lennon and Ono, was later included on the 50th anniversary reissue of The Beatles in 2018, along with the May 1968 demo.\n\nSong structure\nThe song has three verses and a chorus (\"What a shame, Mary Jane had a pain at the party\") and then about 3 minutes consisting of avant garde sound effects. The track ends with a comment from Lennon: \"That’s it, before we get taken away\". (Part of the word \"away\" is cut off.)\n\nMagic Alex\nIn a 1969 interview with NME, Lennon credited head of Apple Electronics and friend Magic Alex with writing half of the song, though this credit was later revoked without explanation.\n\nPersonnel\nJohn Lennon – lead vocals, piano, tambourine, effects\nGeorge Harrison – vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, effects\nYoko Ono – vocals, percussion, effects (Swanee whistle, football rattle, ripping paper percussion )\nMal Evans – handbell, effects\nPersonnel per The Beatles Bible except where indicated\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n \n\nThe Beatles songs\nSongs written by Lennon–McCartney\n1996 songs\nSong recordings produced by George Martin\nExperimental music songs",
"Rushes is a 1998 ambient techno album by the Fireman, a duo composed of Paul McCartney and producer Youth.\n\nThe title, when combined with the band name, references a lyric from the McCartney-penned Beatles song \"Penny Lane\":\n\"And then the fireman rushes in / From the pouring rain / Very strange.\"\n\nRecording\nOne line of lyrics included in the song \"Palo Verde\" was taken from an unreleased track of McCartney's, titled \"Let Me Love You Always\". Similarly, bits from another unreleased song, \"Hey Now (What Are You Looking at Me For?)\", was used in \"Bison\", \"Auraveda\" and \"7 a.m.\". Both unreleased tracks were recorded at some point during 1995, at McCartney's The Mill studio. In an edition of Club Sandwich magazine, two more songs were mentioned: \"Plum Jam\" and \"Through the Marshes\". All of the tracks featured on the album were recorded early 1998. Youth later referred to this album as his proudest of the Fireman albums. \"“We recorded the album when Linda was going through the final stages of her cancer,\" he recalled in 2018. \"She was very involved with the project again. It was very sad when she died. When I listen to the album now, it sounds like a requiem for her, it’s very beautiful.”\n\nRelease and reception\n\nBetter received than predecessor Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest, Rushes is distinguished by not relying so much on McCartney's previous recordings.\n\nRushes was released in the UK on Hydra on 21 September 1998, while in the US it was released on 20 October 1998. The album was also released on double vinyl. Two 12\" singles were released from the album, both mixes of \"Fluid\". The first 12\", released on the same day as and with the same name as the album, contains the tracks \"Fluid\", \"Appletree Cinnabar Amber\", and an extended version of an album track titled \"Bison (Long One)\". The second 12\" was released in 1999, as a limited edition of 3000, titled Fluid (Nitin Sawhney Remixes), and features three remixes of \"Fluid\" (\"Fluid (Out of Body and Mind Mix)\", \"Fluid (Out of Body Mix)\" and \"Fluid (Out of Body with Sitar Mix)\") and the album version of \"Bison\". Like the duo's first album, Rushes was a no-show on the charts and is also no longer in print.\n\nTrack listing\nAll songs written by the Fireman.\n“Side A”- 17:00\n\"Watercolour Guitars\" – 5:48\n\"Palo Verde\" – 11:56\n“Side B”-13:00\n\"Auraveda\" – 12:51\n“Side C” - 18:30\n\"Fluid\" – 11:19\n\"Appletree Cinnabar Amber\" – 7:12\n“Side D” - 13:00\n\"Bison\" – 2:40\n\"7 a.m.\" – 7:49\n\"Watercolour Rush\" – 1:45\n\nPersonnel\n Paul McCartney – all instruments and vocals\n\nReferences\n Footnotes\n\n Citations\n\nThe Fireman (band) albums\n1998 albums\nAlbums produced by Paul McCartney\nAlbums produced by Martin Glover"
] |
[
"Steeleye Span",
"The wilderness years",
"What were the wilderness years?",
"I don't know.",
"Did the band release any albums during this time?",
"The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years",
"what caused the bands output to drop so sharply?",
"Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together.",
"what was the name of an album produced during this time?",
"Back in Line"
] |
C_349bf1761ad746e69d2b01c2479570cf_0
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did they release another album during this time?
| 5 |
did Steeleye Span reslease any albums other than Back in Line during the wilderness years?
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Steeleye Span
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For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring. After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although their recording of "Blackleg Miner" (previously an obscure song from an 1844 strike) became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984-5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which put greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs. In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come. Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey of Gillan, easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moire Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section. Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin" that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992, the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Along with Fairport Convention, they are among the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved significant sales of "All Around My Hat".
Throughout their history, Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes. Their typical album is a collection of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.
History
Early years
Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born bass player Ashley Hutchings departed Fairport Convention, the band he had co-founded in 1967. Fairport had been involved in a road accident in 1969 in which the drummer, Martin Lamble, and Richard Thompson's girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn, were killed and other band members injured. The survivors convalesced in a rented house near Winchester in Hampshire and worked on the album Liege & Lief. Despite the success of the album, Ashley Hutchings and the band's vocalist Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention.
In part, Hutchings departed because he wanted to pursue a different, more traditional, direction than the other members of Fairport did at that time. However, Fairport's co-founder, guitarist Simon Nicol, stated "Whatever the upfront reasons about musical differences and wanting to concentrate on traditional material, I think the accident was the underlying reason why Ashley felt he couldn't continue with us."
Hutchings' new band was formed after he met established duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on the London folk club scene, and the initial line-up was completed by husband and wife team Terry Woods (formerly of Sweeney's Men, later of The Pogues) and Gay Woods. The name Steeleye Span comes from a character in the traditional song "Horkstow Grange" (which they did not actually record until they released an album by that name in 1998). The song gives an account of a fight between John "Steeleye" Span and John Bowlin, neither of whom is proven to have been a real person. Martin Carthy gave Hart the idea to name the band after the song character. When the band discussed names, they decided to choose among the three suggestions "Middlemarch Wait", "Iyubidin's Wait", and "Steeleye Span". Although there were only five members in the band, six ballots appeared and "Steeleye Span" won. Only in 1978 did Hart confess that he had voted twice. The liner notes for their first album include thanks to Carthy for the name suggestion.
With two female singers, the original line-up was unusual for the time, and indeed, never performed live, as the Woodses departed the band shortly after the release of the group's debut album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970). While recording the album, the five members were all living in the same house, an arrangement that produced considerable tensions particularly between Hart and Prior on the one hand and the Woodses on the other. Terry Woods maintains that the members had agreed that if more than one person departed, the remaining members would select a new name, and he was upset that this did not happen when he and Gay Woods left the band. Gay and Terry were replaced by veteran folk musician Martin Carthy and fiddler Peter Knight in a longer-term line-up that toured small concert venues, recorded a number of BBC Radio Sessions, and recorded two albums – Please to See the King (1971) and Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971). While the first album was traditionally performed – guitars, bass and with two guest drummers – Please to See the King was revolutionary in its hard electric sound and lack of drums.
In 1971, the then Steeleye Span line-up minus Maddy Prior contributed to two songs on Scottish folk musician Ray Fisher's album The Bonny Birdy; Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings were also involved in the selection and arrangement of some songs released on this album, whilst Ashley Hutchings wrote the sleeve notes. Furthermore, Martin Carthy and Peter Knight performed on four songs released on Roy Bailey's eponymous debut album in 1971.
A new direction
Shortly after the release of their third album, the band brought in manager Jo Lustig, who brought a more commercial sound to their recordings. At that time, traditionalists Carthy and Hutchings left the band to pursue purely folk projects. Their replacements were electric guitarist Bob Johnson and bass player Rick Kemp, who brought strong rock and blues influences to the sound. Rick Kemp subsequently married Maddy Prior and they had two children before divorcing. Their daughter Rose Kemp and their son Alex (who performs as Kemp) both followed their parents into the music industry.
Lustig signed them to the Chrysalis record label, for a deal that was to last for ten albums.
With the release of their fourth album, Below the Salt, later in 1972, the revised line-up had settled on a distinctive electrified rock sound, although they continued to play mostly arrangements of very traditional material, including songs dating back a hundred years or more. Even on the more commercial Parcel of Rogues (1973), the band had no permanent drummer but, in 1973, rock drummer Nigel Pegrum, who had previously recorded with Gnidrolog, The Small Faces and Uriah Heep, joined them, to harden up their sound (as well as occasionally playing flute and oboe).
Also that year the single "Gaudete" from Below the Salt became a Christmas hit single, reaching number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, although, being an a cappella piece, taken from the late renaissance song collection Piae Cantiones from Finland and sung entirely in Latin, this can neither be considered representative of the band's music, nor of the album from which it was taken. This proved to be their commercial breakthrough and saw them performing on Top of the Pops for the first time. They often include it as a concert encore. Their popularity was also helped by the fact that they often performed as an opening act for fellow Chrysalis artists Jethro Tull.
Their sixth album (and sixth member Pegrum's first with the band) was entitled Now We Are Six. Produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, the album includes the epic track "Thomas the Rhymer", which has been a part of the live set ever since. Although successful, the album is controversial among some fans for the inclusion of nursery rhymes sung by "The St. Eeleye School Choir" (band members singing in the style of children), and the cover of "To Know Him Is to Love Him", featuring a guest appearance from David Bowie on saxophone.
The attempts at humour continued on Commoners Crown (1975), which included Peter Sellers playing electric ukulele on the final track, "New York Girls". Their seventh album also included the epic ballad "Long Lankin" and novelty instrumental "Bach Goes To Limerick".
Mike Batt era
With their star now conspicuously ascendant, the band brought in producer Mike Batt to work on their eighth album, All Around My Hat, and their biggest success would come with the release of the title track as a single – it reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1975. The single was also released in other European countries and gave them a breakthrough in the Netherlands and Germany. Other well-known tracks on the album included "Black Jack Davy" (sampled by rappers Goldie Lookin Chain on their track "The Maggot") and the rocky "Hard Times of Old England". While All Around My Hat was the height of the band's commercial success, the good times were not to last long. Despite touring almost every year since 1975, they have not had another hit single, nor any success in the album chart, since the late 1970s.
The follow-up album, Rocket Cottage (1976), also produced by Batt, proved to be a commercial flop, despite having much in common musically with its predecessor. The opening track, "London", was penned by Rick Kemp as a follow-up to "All Around My Hat", in response to a request from the record label that Kemp describes as "we'll have another one of those, please", and released as a single. The song failed to make the UK Chart, in complete contrast to "All Around My Hat", despite having much in common – a 12/8 time signature, upbeat tempo, solo verses and full harmony chorus. Rocket Cottage also included the experimental track "Fighting for Strangers" (with sparse vocals singing concurrently in a variety of keys) and, on the final track, excerpts of studio banter between the band members and a seemingly impromptu rendition of "Camptown Races", in which Prior gets the lyrics wrong.
At the time of their seventh album, Commoners Crown, the advent of punk saw the mainstream market turning away from folk rock almost overnight, heralding a downturn in commercial fortunes for the band. However, as a thank you to their committed fans (and also possibly to garner some publicity for their underperforming album), Steeleye Span showered attendees of a November 1976 concert in London with £8,500 in pound notes (then equivalent to US$13,600). The unannounced idea was Maddy Prior's and, remarkably, no-one was injured in the rush to grab the falling notes. Indeed, contemporary press reports indicated that it took some time for the crowd to even realise what was happening. Thanks to their connection with Mike Batt, band members appeared in Womble costumes on Top of the Pops, performing the Wombles hit "Superwomble".
Late 1970s and early 1980s
While they would never regain the commercial success of All Around My Hat, Steeleye remained popular among British folk rock fans and generally respected within the music industry. It has been widely reported that Peter Knight and Bob Johnson left the band to work on another project together, The King of Elfland's Daughter. The actual situation was more complex. Chrysalis Records agreed to allow Knight and Johnson to work on "King" only as a way to persuade the duo to continue working with Steeleye. Since the record company had no interest in "King" for its own sake, it made no effort to market the album. Chrysalis' ploy failed, however, and Knight and Johnson quit.
Their departure left a significant hole in the band. For the 1977 album, Storm Force Ten, early member Martin Carthy rejoined on guitar. When he originally joined the band for their second album, Carthy had tried to persuade the others to bring John Kirkpatrick on board but the band had chosen Knight instead. This time, Carthy's suggestion was accepted and Kirkpatrick's accordion replaced Knight's fiddle, which gave the recording a very different texture from the Steeleye sound of previous years. Kirkpatrick's one-man morris dances quickly became one of the highlights of the band's show. This line-up also recorded their first album outside of the studio, Live at Last, before a "split" at the end of the decade that proved to be short-lived. Carthy and Kirkpatrick had only intended to play with the band for a few months and had no interest in a longer association.
During 1977 and some time thereafter, Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp created a "porno punk" band called The Pork Dukes, using pseudonyms. The Pork Dukes released several albums and singles over the years.
The band were contractually obliged to record a final album for the Chrysalis label and, with Carthy and Kirkpatrick not wanting to rejoin the re-formed band, the door was open for Knight and Johnson to return, in 1980. The album Sails of Silver saw the band moving away from traditional material to a greater focus on self-penned songs, many with historical or pseudo-folk themes. Sails was not a commercial success, in part because Chrysalis chose not to promote the album aggressively but also because many fans felt uncomfortable with the band's new direction in its choice of material. The failure of the album left Hart unhappy enough that he decided to leave the band and give up commercial music entirely, in favour of a reclusive life overseas.
After Sails of Silver there were to be no new albums for several years, and Steeleye became a part-time touring band. The other members spent much of their time and energy working on their various other projects and the band went into a fitful hibernation. "Sails of Silver" was used as a theme song for the science fiction literary show "Hour of The Wolf", on NYC radio station WBAI 99.5FM since the 1980s. This introduced many younger US listeners to the band.
In 1981 Isla St Clair presented a series of four television programmes, called "The Song and The Story", about the history of some folk songs, which won the Prix Jeunesse. St Clair sang the songs, and The Maddy Prior Band did the backing instrumentals.
Wilderness years
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring.
After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although they covered "Blackleg Miner" (a composition to support a 1844 strike revised many times by folk artists in the 20th century) to show solidarity with striking miners. Some argued this became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984–5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which some claim puts greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs .
In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come.
Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey (most recently of rock band Gillan), easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moiré Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section.
Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin", that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992 the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well.
Maddy 'leaves the bus'
In 1995 almost all the past and present members of the band reunited for a concert to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the band (which would later be released as The Journey). The only former members not present were founding members Terry Woods, Mark Williamson, and Chris Staines.
A by-product of this gig was founding vocalist Gay Woods rejoining the band full-time, partly because Prior was experiencing vocal problems and, for a while, Steeleye toured with two female singers and released the album Time 1996, their first new studio album in seven years.
There were doubts over the future of the band when Prior announced her departure, in 1997, but Steeleye continued in a more productive vein than for many years, with Woods as lead singer, releasing Horkstow Grange (1998), and then Bedlam Born (2000). Fans of Steeleye's "rock" element felt that Horkstow Grange was too quiet and folk-oriented, while fans of the band's "folk" element complained that Bedlam Born was too rock-heavy. Woods received considerable criticism from fans, many of whom did not realise that she was one of the founding members and who compared her singing style unfavourably to Prior's. There was also disagreement among the band about what material to perform; Woods advocated performing old favourites such as "All Around My Hat" and "Alison Gross", while Johnson favoured a set that emphasised their newer material.
Liam Genockey had also left the band in 1997 and, on these albums, the drum kit was manned by Dave Mattacks, who was not an official member of the band.
Breakup and comeback
Reported difficulties among band members saw a split during the recording of Bedlam Born. Woods reportedly was uncomfortable with the financial arrangements of the band, health problems forced Johnson into retirement, and drummer Dave Mattacks' period as an unofficial member came to an end. Rick Kemp resumed playing with the band as a guest replacing Bob Johnson for the Bedlam Born tour, with Harries switching to lead guitar. Woods then left after this tour.
For a while the band consisted of just Peter Knight and Tim Harries, plus various guest musicians, as they fulfilled live commitments. This was an uncertain time for the future of the band, and when Harries announced he was not keen to continue his role, even the willingness of Kemp to return to the line-up full-time was not enough to prevent an 18 month hiatus while Peter Knight and the bands manager, John Dagnell, considered whether it was worth continuing.
In 2002 Steeleye Span reformed with a "classic" line-up (including Prior), bringing an end to the uncertainty of the previous couple of years. Knight hosted a poll on his website, asking the band's fans which Steeleye songs they would most want to see the band re-record. Armed with the results, Knight persuaded Prior and Genockey to rejoin, coaxed Johnson out of a health-induced retirement and, along with Kemp and Knight, they released Present—The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002), a 2-disc set of new recordings of the songs.
Bob Johnson's health issues prevented him from playing live, shortly before the 2002 comeback tour, and he was replaced at the eleventh hour on guitar by Ken Nicol, formerly of the Albion Band. Nicol had been talking with Rick Kemp about forming a band, when Kemp invited him to play for the tour and this was to herald a significant return to form for the band.
Ken Nicol years
A revitalised lineup consisting of Prior, Kemp, Knight, Genockey and newcomer Ken Nicol released the album They Called Her Babylon early in 2004, to considerable acclaim. The band extensively toured the UK, Europe and Australia, and their relatively prolific output continued with the release of the Christmas album Winter later the same year, as the band ended a busy year of touring with a gala performance in London's Palladium theatre. In 2005 Steeleye Span were awarded the Good Tradition Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, while the 2005 book, Electric Folk by Britta Sweers devotes much space to the band.
With a new sense of purpose and a stable line-up, the band carried out a UK tour in April and May 2006, followed by dates in Europe and an appearance at the 2006 Cropredy Festival, where they were the headline act on the opening night. The set started with "Bonny Black Hare" and finished with "All Around My Hat", with backing vocals from the Cropredy Crowd. The full play list is at Crop Log 2006. The tour was supported by a live album and DVD of their 2004 tour.
In November 2006 Steeleye released their studio album Bloody Men. Their Autumn/Winter tour started on 24 November 2006 in Basingstoke and ran until just before Christmas. They headlined at their namesake festival, Spanfest 2007 at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk from 27 to 29 July 2007, and returned for Spanfest 2008. However, as Kentwell Hall declined to hold the festival again, it was held at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire. A UK tour took place between 17 April and 16 May 2008.
For their 40th anniversary tour, in 2009, Pete Zorn joined the line-up on bass, as Rick Kemp was unwell. Kemp and Zorn both toured with the band for the winter tour that year, with Zorn playing guitar, and Kemp announced that he would be retiring at the end of the tour – a decision he later reversed, as usual.
Live at a Distance, a live double CD and DVD set, was released in April 2009 by Park Records, and their new studio album entitled Cogs, Wheels & Lovers was released on 26 October 2009. Several tracks from this album featured in the sets of the autumn tour.
Founding member Tim Hart died on 24 December 2009, at his home in La Gomera on the Canary Islands, at the age of 61, after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Now We Are Six Again / Wintersmith
In June 2010 Ken Nicol announced that he was leaving Steeleye and the band reassembled for a Spring 2011 tour, with Julian Littman joining the line-up as guitarist, replacing Nicol. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn also continued to play with the band, making them a six-piece for the first time in many years.
In 2011 they released Now We Are Six again, a live double album based on their set at the time, which included full performances of all the songs on their 1974 Now we are Six album.
In October 2013 the band released their 22nd studio album, Wintersmith, containing original songs based on the writings of Terry Pratchett. This was followed by a winter tour of the UK. This album marked a return to form and media attention as the album reached number 77 in the UK Albums Chart, had tracks played on BBC Radio 2 and led to various radio and TV interviews for Terry Pratchett and Maddy Prior as they promoted the album.
Following Pratchett's death, in March 2015, the band made an appearance at the memorial service for him, in April 2016, at Barbican Centre, London.
Peter Knight leaves / Dodgy Bastards album
In November 2013 Peter Knight announced that he would be leaving Steeleye Span at the end of 2013. He was replaced by Jessie May Smart. The band continued to tour regularly and recorded four new tracks for the 2014 'Deluxe' re-release of the Wintersmith album.
In the summer of 2015 they toured North America, with a reduced line up consisting of Prior, Littman, Smart, Genockey and, for the first time, Maddy's son, Alex Kemp, on bass, replacing his father, Rick. An autumn/winter tour of the UK followed with Rick Kemp back in the line-up, along with Andrew 'Spud' Sinclair, replacing Pete Zorn.
In April 2016 Pete Zorn was diagnosed with advanced lung and brain cancer. He died on 19 April.
Andrew Sinclair joined the band permanently in 2016 and the line up toured in October 2016 and announced the release of a new studio album, Dodgy Bastards, in November. The album is a mixture of original compositions, traditional songs and original tunes put to traditional lyrics.
Present day / 50th anniversary
After completing the 'Dodgy Bastards' tour, Rick Kemp retired and has been replaced by Roger Carey, on bass. For the November/December 2017 tour the band was joined by multi-instrumentalist and ex-Bellowhead member Benji Kirkpatrick. Benji is son of former Steeleye Span member, John Kirkpatrick. This seven-piece line-up, the first in the band's history, has continued to tour. 2019 was the band's 50th anniversary year and a new album was released to celebrate the anniversary: Est'd 1969. The band undertook two "50th Anniversary" tours in 2019, in Spring and November. The band played the 'Fields of Avalon' area at the Glastonbury Festival 2019, were the closing act at the Cornbury Music Festival 2019 and even made their debut in Russia at a folk festival called Chasti Sveta (Части света, Parts of the World), in Saint Petersburg. On 17 December they appeared at the Barbican Theatre, in London, with special guests and previous band members Peter Knight, Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. For the November/December 2022 tour, with Jessie May Smart on maternity leave, Violeta Vicci joined the band, on violin. Benji Kirkpatrick left the band in early 2022.
Examples of collaborations
Prior sang backing vocals on the title track of Jethro Tull's 1976 album Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die, the song "Salamander's Rag-Time" from the same session and their 1978 single "A Stitch In Time". Later, members of Jethro Tull backed Prior on her album Woman in the Wings. Ray Fisher's rare 1972 album Bonny Birdy includes one track with the High Level Ranters, one with Steeleye Span, and one with Martin Carthy.
Until the 1990s Steeleye often toured as part of a double bill, either supporting Status Quo, or featuring support from artists such as Rock Salt & Nails and The Rankin Family. When Steeleye Span supported Status Quo on tour, in 1996, the latter had just issued their version of "All Around My Hat" as a single. "The video was filmed at Christmas," Prior recalled. "We'd supported them, and I found myself down in the mosh pit. Francis saw me and told the audience, 'Oh look, there's a Maddy lookalike down there… Fuck me, it is Maddy!' I was hoyed over the barrier [to the stage], to join them for the encore. It was all very jolly." Status Quo's single is credited to "Status Quo with Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span" and reached number 47 in the charts.
Discography
Studio albums
Hark! The Village Wait (1970)
Please to See the King (1971)
Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971)
Below the Salt (1972)
Parcel of Rogues (1973)
Now We Are Six (1974)
Commoners Crown (1975)
All Around My Hat (1975)
Rocket Cottage (1976)
Storm Force Ten (1977)
Sails of Silver (1980)
Back in Line (1986)
Tempted and Tried (1989)
Time (1996)
Horkstow Grange (1998)
Bedlam Born (2000)
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002)
They Called Her Babylon (2004)
Winter (2004)
Bloody Men (2006)
Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009)
Wintersmith (2013)
Dodgy Bastards (2016)
Est'd 1969 (2019)
Lost recordings
In 1995 Steeleye recorded "The Golden Vanity" for the Time album, but it did not appear on it. It was released on the anthology The Best of British Folk Rock. Similarly they recorded "General Taylor" for Ten Man Mop but the song did not appear on it. It resurfaced on the compilation album Individually and Collectively instead. It was also included in another compilation The Lark in The Morning (2006), as well as re-issues of Ten Man Mop. "Bonny Moorhen" was recorded at the time of the Parcel of Rogues session. It appears, however, on the compilation album Original Masters, and is also packaged as part of A Parcel of Steeleye Span. The song "Somewhere in London", recorded for Back in Line (1986) was released instead as a B-side single, but returned to its proper place "Back in Line" when the album was reissued in 1991. "Staring Robin", a song about a man described by Tim Harries as an "Elizabethan psycho", was recorded during the Bedlam Born (2000) sessions, but it was left off the final album as it was deemed by Park Records to be too disturbing.
The track "The Holly and the Ivy" was released as the B-side of the Gaudete single and did not appear on any album. It was later released on the 'Steeleye Span: A rare collection' oddities compilation. Several Steeleye songs have never been recorded for a studio album and have only been made available in their live versions, including several tracks on 'Live at Last' and 'Tonight's the night... Live'.
Personnel
Members
Current members
Maddy Prior – vocals
Liam Genockey – drums, percussion
Andrew "Spud" Sinclair – guitars
Julian Littman – guitars
Jessie May Smart – violin
Roger Carey – bass
Violeta Vicci –
Former members
Tim Hart – guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, vocals
Ashley Hutchings – bass
Gay Woods – vocals, bodhran
Terry Woods – guitars, concertina, vocals
Martin Carthy – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Bob Johnson – guitars, vocals
Nigel Pegrum – drums, percussion, flute
John Kirkpatrick – accordion, vocals
Mark Williamson – bass
Chris Staines – bass
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
Tim Harries – bass, piano, guitars, vocals
Michael Gregory – drums, percussion
Terl Bryant – drums, percussion
Ken Nicol – guitars, vocals
Peter Knight – strings, keyboards, guitars, vocals
Pete Zorn – guitars, woodwind
Rick Kemp – bass, drums, vocals
Benji Kirkpatrick – bouzouki, banjo, vocals
Lineups
Timeline
Notes and references
Sources
External links
Official website
Steeleye Span's record label
1969 establishments in England
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Ashley Hutchings
British folk rock groups
Chrysalis Records artists
English folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1969
RCA Records artists
United Artists Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups
| false |
[
"Jeannie Seely is a studio album by American country music artist Jeannie Seely. The album was released in 1990 on Faux Paw Productions and Shadpoke Records. The album was produced by Seely as well. The project was Seely's first studio album in eight years and second eponymous album to be released. It would be one of several studio records she would record during the 1990s.\n\nBackground and release\nJeannie Seely was recorded between 1989 and 1990. It was the first album to be produced by Seely herself. Some of her future releases would also be self-produced. The album consisted of ten tracks. Among the album's tracks was a re-recording of \"Don't Touch Me\", Seely's signature song. It was the second time that Seely had re-recorded the tune. Another track on the album was a cover version of Michael Bolton's hit \"When I'm Back on My Feet Again\". Another song on the album, \"Healing Hands of Time\", was composed by Willie Nelson. The project also included six tracks that were written or co-written by Seely.\n\nJeannie Seely was released in 1990 on Faux Paw Productions and Shadpoke Productions. These two companies had been founded by Seely. The album was released as a cassette with five songs on each side of the device. The album marked Seely's first studio release in eight years and second eponymous album to be issued. The album did not produce any known singles nor did it reach any peak positions on the Billboard music charts.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel\nAll credits are adapted from the liner notes of Jeannie Seely.\n\n Jeannie Seely – lead vocals, producer\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\n1990 albums\nAlbums produced by Jeannie Seely\nJeannie Seely albums",
"Girl Friends is a K-Pop group made up of real-life friends, Yuri and Chae Rina. They released two albums with mixed success; their debut single was \"Maybe I Love You.\"\n\nHistory\nBoth Yuri and Chae Rina have previously been part of major Korean pop groups: Yuri in Cool, and Chae in Roo'ra and Diva. They became friends in the 1990s while performing with their respective groups, and discussed doing a joint project for 10 years. When they found time to do so, they debated on various names (including \"Yurina\") before deciding on \"Girl Friends\"; afterwards, Chae stated that it felt great to keep their promise and release an album.\n\nTheir first album, Another Myself, was released on July 29, 2006. Described as an R&B album, the duo mentioned that it was an album made with no regrets, and they put their best efforts into making a great album. Their first single was \"Maybe I Love You.\" The album sold 8000 copies by the end of August, according to the Music Industry Association of Korea.\n\nTheir second album, Addict 2 Times, was released in August 2007. The duo did not make an official comeback performance until October 2007; at the time, they stated that they wanted to win fans with their songs instead of their dances. The album sold 1,777 copies in its month of release; it has not charted since.\n\nDiscography\n\nAlbums\nAnother Myself July 29, 2006\nAddict 2 Times August 20, 2007\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Official website\n A KBS Radio biography on the group (English)\n\nSouth Korean girl groups\nK-pop music groups\nMusical groups established in 2006\n2006 establishments in South Korea"
] |
[
"Steeleye Span",
"The wilderness years",
"What were the wilderness years?",
"I don't know.",
"Did the band release any albums during this time?",
"The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years",
"what caused the bands output to drop so sharply?",
"Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together.",
"what was the name of an album produced during this time?",
"Back in Line",
"did they release another album during this time?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_349bf1761ad746e69d2b01c2479570cf_0
|
what was the track list for Back in Line?
| 6 |
what was the track list for Steeleye Span's album Back in Line?
|
Steeleye Span
|
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring. After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although their recording of "Blackleg Miner" (previously an obscure song from an 1844 strike) became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984-5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which put greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs. In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come. Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey of Gillan, easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moire Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section. Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin" that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992, the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well. CANNOTANSWER
|
CANNOTANSWER
|
Steeleye Span are an English folk rock band formed in 1969. Along with Fairport Convention, they are among the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat". They had four Top 40 albums and achieved significant sales of "All Around My Hat".
Throughout their history, Steeleye Span have seen many personnel changes. Their typical album is a collection of mostly traditional songs with one or two instrumental tracks of jigs and/or reels added; the traditional songs often include some of the Child Ballads. In their later albums there has been an increased tendency to include music written by the band members, but they have never moved completely away from traditional music, which draws upon pan-British traditions.
History
Early years
Steeleye Span began in late 1969, when London-born bass player Ashley Hutchings departed Fairport Convention, the band he had co-founded in 1967. Fairport had been involved in a road accident in 1969 in which the drummer, Martin Lamble, and Richard Thompson's girlfriend, Jeannie Franklyn, were killed and other band members injured. The survivors convalesced in a rented house near Winchester in Hampshire and worked on the album Liege & Lief. Despite the success of the album, Ashley Hutchings and the band's vocalist Sandy Denny left Fairport Convention.
In part, Hutchings departed because he wanted to pursue a different, more traditional, direction than the other members of Fairport did at that time. However, Fairport's co-founder, guitarist Simon Nicol, stated "Whatever the upfront reasons about musical differences and wanting to concentrate on traditional material, I think the accident was the underlying reason why Ashley felt he couldn't continue with us."
Hutchings' new band was formed after he met established duo Tim Hart and Maddy Prior on the London folk club scene, and the initial line-up was completed by husband and wife team Terry Woods (formerly of Sweeney's Men, later of The Pogues) and Gay Woods. The name Steeleye Span comes from a character in the traditional song "Horkstow Grange" (which they did not actually record until they released an album by that name in 1998). The song gives an account of a fight between John "Steeleye" Span and John Bowlin, neither of whom is proven to have been a real person. Martin Carthy gave Hart the idea to name the band after the song character. When the band discussed names, they decided to choose among the three suggestions "Middlemarch Wait", "Iyubidin's Wait", and "Steeleye Span". Although there were only five members in the band, six ballots appeared and "Steeleye Span" won. Only in 1978 did Hart confess that he had voted twice. The liner notes for their first album include thanks to Carthy for the name suggestion.
With two female singers, the original line-up was unusual for the time, and indeed, never performed live, as the Woodses departed the band shortly after the release of the group's debut album, Hark! The Village Wait (1970). While recording the album, the five members were all living in the same house, an arrangement that produced considerable tensions particularly between Hart and Prior on the one hand and the Woodses on the other. Terry Woods maintains that the members had agreed that if more than one person departed, the remaining members would select a new name, and he was upset that this did not happen when he and Gay Woods left the band. Gay and Terry were replaced by veteran folk musician Martin Carthy and fiddler Peter Knight in a longer-term line-up that toured small concert venues, recorded a number of BBC Radio Sessions, and recorded two albums – Please to See the King (1971) and Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971). While the first album was traditionally performed – guitars, bass and with two guest drummers – Please to See the King was revolutionary in its hard electric sound and lack of drums.
In 1971, the then Steeleye Span line-up minus Maddy Prior contributed to two songs on Scottish folk musician Ray Fisher's album The Bonny Birdy; Martin Carthy and Ashley Hutchings were also involved in the selection and arrangement of some songs released on this album, whilst Ashley Hutchings wrote the sleeve notes. Furthermore, Martin Carthy and Peter Knight performed on four songs released on Roy Bailey's eponymous debut album in 1971.
A new direction
Shortly after the release of their third album, the band brought in manager Jo Lustig, who brought a more commercial sound to their recordings. At that time, traditionalists Carthy and Hutchings left the band to pursue purely folk projects. Their replacements were electric guitarist Bob Johnson and bass player Rick Kemp, who brought strong rock and blues influences to the sound. Rick Kemp subsequently married Maddy Prior and they had two children before divorcing. Their daughter Rose Kemp and their son Alex (who performs as Kemp) both followed their parents into the music industry.
Lustig signed them to the Chrysalis record label, for a deal that was to last for ten albums.
With the release of their fourth album, Below the Salt, later in 1972, the revised line-up had settled on a distinctive electrified rock sound, although they continued to play mostly arrangements of very traditional material, including songs dating back a hundred years or more. Even on the more commercial Parcel of Rogues (1973), the band had no permanent drummer but, in 1973, rock drummer Nigel Pegrum, who had previously recorded with Gnidrolog, The Small Faces and Uriah Heep, joined them, to harden up their sound (as well as occasionally playing flute and oboe).
Also that year the single "Gaudete" from Below the Salt became a Christmas hit single, reaching number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, although, being an a cappella piece, taken from the late renaissance song collection Piae Cantiones from Finland and sung entirely in Latin, this can neither be considered representative of the band's music, nor of the album from which it was taken. This proved to be their commercial breakthrough and saw them performing on Top of the Pops for the first time. They often include it as a concert encore. Their popularity was also helped by the fact that they often performed as an opening act for fellow Chrysalis artists Jethro Tull.
Their sixth album (and sixth member Pegrum's first with the band) was entitled Now We Are Six. Produced by Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, the album includes the epic track "Thomas the Rhymer", which has been a part of the live set ever since. Although successful, the album is controversial among some fans for the inclusion of nursery rhymes sung by "The St. Eeleye School Choir" (band members singing in the style of children), and the cover of "To Know Him Is to Love Him", featuring a guest appearance from David Bowie on saxophone.
The attempts at humour continued on Commoners Crown (1975), which included Peter Sellers playing electric ukulele on the final track, "New York Girls". Their seventh album also included the epic ballad "Long Lankin" and novelty instrumental "Bach Goes To Limerick".
Mike Batt era
With their star now conspicuously ascendant, the band brought in producer Mike Batt to work on their eighth album, All Around My Hat, and their biggest success would come with the release of the title track as a single – it reached number 5 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1975. The single was also released in other European countries and gave them a breakthrough in the Netherlands and Germany. Other well-known tracks on the album included "Black Jack Davy" (sampled by rappers Goldie Lookin Chain on their track "The Maggot") and the rocky "Hard Times of Old England". While All Around My Hat was the height of the band's commercial success, the good times were not to last long. Despite touring almost every year since 1975, they have not had another hit single, nor any success in the album chart, since the late 1970s.
The follow-up album, Rocket Cottage (1976), also produced by Batt, proved to be a commercial flop, despite having much in common musically with its predecessor. The opening track, "London", was penned by Rick Kemp as a follow-up to "All Around My Hat", in response to a request from the record label that Kemp describes as "we'll have another one of those, please", and released as a single. The song failed to make the UK Chart, in complete contrast to "All Around My Hat", despite having much in common – a 12/8 time signature, upbeat tempo, solo verses and full harmony chorus. Rocket Cottage also included the experimental track "Fighting for Strangers" (with sparse vocals singing concurrently in a variety of keys) and, on the final track, excerpts of studio banter between the band members and a seemingly impromptu rendition of "Camptown Races", in which Prior gets the lyrics wrong.
At the time of their seventh album, Commoners Crown, the advent of punk saw the mainstream market turning away from folk rock almost overnight, heralding a downturn in commercial fortunes for the band. However, as a thank you to their committed fans (and also possibly to garner some publicity for their underperforming album), Steeleye Span showered attendees of a November 1976 concert in London with £8,500 in pound notes (then equivalent to US$13,600). The unannounced idea was Maddy Prior's and, remarkably, no-one was injured in the rush to grab the falling notes. Indeed, contemporary press reports indicated that it took some time for the crowd to even realise what was happening. Thanks to their connection with Mike Batt, band members appeared in Womble costumes on Top of the Pops, performing the Wombles hit "Superwomble".
Late 1970s and early 1980s
While they would never regain the commercial success of All Around My Hat, Steeleye remained popular among British folk rock fans and generally respected within the music industry. It has been widely reported that Peter Knight and Bob Johnson left the band to work on another project together, The King of Elfland's Daughter. The actual situation was more complex. Chrysalis Records agreed to allow Knight and Johnson to work on "King" only as a way to persuade the duo to continue working with Steeleye. Since the record company had no interest in "King" for its own sake, it made no effort to market the album. Chrysalis' ploy failed, however, and Knight and Johnson quit.
Their departure left a significant hole in the band. For the 1977 album, Storm Force Ten, early member Martin Carthy rejoined on guitar. When he originally joined the band for their second album, Carthy had tried to persuade the others to bring John Kirkpatrick on board but the band had chosen Knight instead. This time, Carthy's suggestion was accepted and Kirkpatrick's accordion replaced Knight's fiddle, which gave the recording a very different texture from the Steeleye sound of previous years. Kirkpatrick's one-man morris dances quickly became one of the highlights of the band's show. This line-up also recorded their first album outside of the studio, Live at Last, before a "split" at the end of the decade that proved to be short-lived. Carthy and Kirkpatrick had only intended to play with the band for a few months and had no interest in a longer association.
During 1977 and some time thereafter, Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp created a "porno punk" band called The Pork Dukes, using pseudonyms. The Pork Dukes released several albums and singles over the years.
The band were contractually obliged to record a final album for the Chrysalis label and, with Carthy and Kirkpatrick not wanting to rejoin the re-formed band, the door was open for Knight and Johnson to return, in 1980. The album Sails of Silver saw the band moving away from traditional material to a greater focus on self-penned songs, many with historical or pseudo-folk themes. Sails was not a commercial success, in part because Chrysalis chose not to promote the album aggressively but also because many fans felt uncomfortable with the band's new direction in its choice of material. The failure of the album left Hart unhappy enough that he decided to leave the band and give up commercial music entirely, in favour of a reclusive life overseas.
After Sails of Silver there were to be no new albums for several years, and Steeleye became a part-time touring band. The other members spent much of their time and energy working on their various other projects and the band went into a fitful hibernation. "Sails of Silver" was used as a theme song for the science fiction literary show "Hour of The Wolf", on NYC radio station WBAI 99.5FM since the 1980s. This introduced many younger US listeners to the band.
In 1981 Isla St Clair presented a series of four television programmes, called "The Song and The Story", about the history of some folk songs, which won the Prix Jeunesse. St Clair sang the songs, and The Maddy Prior Band did the backing instrumentals.
Wilderness years
For much of the 1980s, the members of the band tended to focus on outside projects of various sorts. Johnson opened a restaurant and then studied for a degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. Pegrum ran a music studio. Prior and Kemp devoted much energy to their own band (The Maddy Prior Band; see Maddy Prior (solo albums)), recording 4 albums, and also had children together. The result was that the band's output dropped sharply, producing only three albums over the space of ten years (including a concert album), although the band continued touring.
After a quiet spell, the group's 12th studio album (and first without Tim Hart) Back in Line was released on the Flutterby label in 1986. With no "relaunch" as such, the band retained a low profile, although they covered "Blackleg Miner" (a composition to support a 1844 strike revised many times by folk artists in the 20th century) to show solidarity with striking miners. Some argued this became a political anthem for the NUM during the miners' strike of 1984–5 and was used to intimidate working miners. Steeleye Span continued to perform the song live and included a different version on their 1986 release Back in Line, which some claim puts greater stress on the line that threatens death against blacklegs .
In 1989, two long-term members departed. One was bassist Rick Kemp, who needed to recover from a serious shoulder injury, exacerbated by playing bass on stage. His eventual replacement (after two tours, each with a different bassist) was Tim Harries, who was brought in less than two weeks before the band was scheduled to start a tour. A friend of Pegrum's, Harries was a self-taught rock bassist, as well as a classically trained pianist and double bassist. With Harries on board, Steeleye released Tempted and Tried (1989), an album that formed the basis for their live set for many years to come.
Not long after recording Tempted, drummer Nigel Pegrum emigrated to Australia for personal relationship reasons. He was replaced by eccentric drummer Liam Genockey (most recently of rock band Gillan), easily identified by his long, plaited beard. He and Knight were simultaneously members of "Moiré Music", a free-jazz band with a classical flavour, led by Trevor Watts. Unlike Pegrum, who employed a traditional rock drumming style, Genockey favoured a more varied drumming style, influenced by both Irish and African drumming, in which he hit, brushed, and rubbed the various surfaces of his drums and cymbals, creating a more varied range of sounds. Consequently, when the band embarked on their 20th Anniversary Tour, they did so with a totally new rhythm section.
Both Harries and Genockey were interested in experimenting with the band's sound, and they helped re-energise the other members' interest in Steeleye. The band began reworking some of their earlier material, seeking new approaches to traditional favourites. For example, Johnson experimented with an arrangement of "Tam Lin", that involved a heavy Bulgarian influence, inspired by Eastern European versions of the Tam Lin legend. In 1992 the band released Tonight's the Night...Live, which demonstrates some of this new energy and direction. The band continued to tour the UK every year, and frequently toured overseas as well.
Maddy 'leaves the bus'
In 1995 almost all the past and present members of the band reunited for a concert to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the band (which would later be released as The Journey). The only former members not present were founding members Terry Woods, Mark Williamson, and Chris Staines.
A by-product of this gig was founding vocalist Gay Woods rejoining the band full-time, partly because Prior was experiencing vocal problems and, for a while, Steeleye toured with two female singers and released the album Time 1996, their first new studio album in seven years.
There were doubts over the future of the band when Prior announced her departure, in 1997, but Steeleye continued in a more productive vein than for many years, with Woods as lead singer, releasing Horkstow Grange (1998), and then Bedlam Born (2000). Fans of Steeleye's "rock" element felt that Horkstow Grange was too quiet and folk-oriented, while fans of the band's "folk" element complained that Bedlam Born was too rock-heavy. Woods received considerable criticism from fans, many of whom did not realise that she was one of the founding members and who compared her singing style unfavourably to Prior's. There was also disagreement among the band about what material to perform; Woods advocated performing old favourites such as "All Around My Hat" and "Alison Gross", while Johnson favoured a set that emphasised their newer material.
Liam Genockey had also left the band in 1997 and, on these albums, the drum kit was manned by Dave Mattacks, who was not an official member of the band.
Breakup and comeback
Reported difficulties among band members saw a split during the recording of Bedlam Born. Woods reportedly was uncomfortable with the financial arrangements of the band, health problems forced Johnson into retirement, and drummer Dave Mattacks' period as an unofficial member came to an end. Rick Kemp resumed playing with the band as a guest replacing Bob Johnson for the Bedlam Born tour, with Harries switching to lead guitar. Woods then left after this tour.
For a while the band consisted of just Peter Knight and Tim Harries, plus various guest musicians, as they fulfilled live commitments. This was an uncertain time for the future of the band, and when Harries announced he was not keen to continue his role, even the willingness of Kemp to return to the line-up full-time was not enough to prevent an 18 month hiatus while Peter Knight and the bands manager, John Dagnell, considered whether it was worth continuing.
In 2002 Steeleye Span reformed with a "classic" line-up (including Prior), bringing an end to the uncertainty of the previous couple of years. Knight hosted a poll on his website, asking the band's fans which Steeleye songs they would most want to see the band re-record. Armed with the results, Knight persuaded Prior and Genockey to rejoin, coaxed Johnson out of a health-induced retirement and, along with Kemp and Knight, they released Present—The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002), a 2-disc set of new recordings of the songs.
Bob Johnson's health issues prevented him from playing live, shortly before the 2002 comeback tour, and he was replaced at the eleventh hour on guitar by Ken Nicol, formerly of the Albion Band. Nicol had been talking with Rick Kemp about forming a band, when Kemp invited him to play for the tour and this was to herald a significant return to form for the band.
Ken Nicol years
A revitalised lineup consisting of Prior, Kemp, Knight, Genockey and newcomer Ken Nicol released the album They Called Her Babylon early in 2004, to considerable acclaim. The band extensively toured the UK, Europe and Australia, and their relatively prolific output continued with the release of the Christmas album Winter later the same year, as the band ended a busy year of touring with a gala performance in London's Palladium theatre. In 2005 Steeleye Span were awarded the Good Tradition Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, while the 2005 book, Electric Folk by Britta Sweers devotes much space to the band.
With a new sense of purpose and a stable line-up, the band carried out a UK tour in April and May 2006, followed by dates in Europe and an appearance at the 2006 Cropredy Festival, where they were the headline act on the opening night. The set started with "Bonny Black Hare" and finished with "All Around My Hat", with backing vocals from the Cropredy Crowd. The full play list is at Crop Log 2006. The tour was supported by a live album and DVD of their 2004 tour.
In November 2006 Steeleye released their studio album Bloody Men. Their Autumn/Winter tour started on 24 November 2006 in Basingstoke and ran until just before Christmas. They headlined at their namesake festival, Spanfest 2007 at Kentwell Hall, Suffolk from 27 to 29 July 2007, and returned for Spanfest 2008. However, as Kentwell Hall declined to hold the festival again, it was held at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire. A UK tour took place between 17 April and 16 May 2008.
For their 40th anniversary tour, in 2009, Pete Zorn joined the line-up on bass, as Rick Kemp was unwell. Kemp and Zorn both toured with the band for the winter tour that year, with Zorn playing guitar, and Kemp announced that he would be retiring at the end of the tour – a decision he later reversed, as usual.
Live at a Distance, a live double CD and DVD set, was released in April 2009 by Park Records, and their new studio album entitled Cogs, Wheels & Lovers was released on 26 October 2009. Several tracks from this album featured in the sets of the autumn tour.
Founding member Tim Hart died on 24 December 2009, at his home in La Gomera on the Canary Islands, at the age of 61, after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer.
Now We Are Six Again / Wintersmith
In June 2010 Ken Nicol announced that he was leaving Steeleye and the band reassembled for a Spring 2011 tour, with Julian Littman joining the line-up as guitarist, replacing Nicol. Multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn also continued to play with the band, making them a six-piece for the first time in many years.
In 2011 they released Now We Are Six again, a live double album based on their set at the time, which included full performances of all the songs on their 1974 Now we are Six album.
In October 2013 the band released their 22nd studio album, Wintersmith, containing original songs based on the writings of Terry Pratchett. This was followed by a winter tour of the UK. This album marked a return to form and media attention as the album reached number 77 in the UK Albums Chart, had tracks played on BBC Radio 2 and led to various radio and TV interviews for Terry Pratchett and Maddy Prior as they promoted the album.
Following Pratchett's death, in March 2015, the band made an appearance at the memorial service for him, in April 2016, at Barbican Centre, London.
Peter Knight leaves / Dodgy Bastards album
In November 2013 Peter Knight announced that he would be leaving Steeleye Span at the end of 2013. He was replaced by Jessie May Smart. The band continued to tour regularly and recorded four new tracks for the 2014 'Deluxe' re-release of the Wintersmith album.
In the summer of 2015 they toured North America, with a reduced line up consisting of Prior, Littman, Smart, Genockey and, for the first time, Maddy's son, Alex Kemp, on bass, replacing his father, Rick. An autumn/winter tour of the UK followed with Rick Kemp back in the line-up, along with Andrew 'Spud' Sinclair, replacing Pete Zorn.
In April 2016 Pete Zorn was diagnosed with advanced lung and brain cancer. He died on 19 April.
Andrew Sinclair joined the band permanently in 2016 and the line up toured in October 2016 and announced the release of a new studio album, Dodgy Bastards, in November. The album is a mixture of original compositions, traditional songs and original tunes put to traditional lyrics.
Present day / 50th anniversary
After completing the 'Dodgy Bastards' tour, Rick Kemp retired and has been replaced by Roger Carey, on bass. For the November/December 2017 tour the band was joined by multi-instrumentalist and ex-Bellowhead member Benji Kirkpatrick. Benji is son of former Steeleye Span member, John Kirkpatrick. This seven-piece line-up, the first in the band's history, has continued to tour. 2019 was the band's 50th anniversary year and a new album was released to celebrate the anniversary: Est'd 1969. The band undertook two "50th Anniversary" tours in 2019, in Spring and November. The band played the 'Fields of Avalon' area at the Glastonbury Festival 2019, were the closing act at the Cornbury Music Festival 2019 and even made their debut in Russia at a folk festival called Chasti Sveta (Части света, Parts of the World), in Saint Petersburg. On 17 December they appeared at the Barbican Theatre, in London, with special guests and previous band members Peter Knight, Martin Carthy and John Kirkpatrick. For the November/December 2022 tour, with Jessie May Smart on maternity leave, Violeta Vicci joined the band, on violin. Benji Kirkpatrick left the band in early 2022.
Examples of collaborations
Prior sang backing vocals on the title track of Jethro Tull's 1976 album Too Old To Rock and Roll, Too Young To Die, the song "Salamander's Rag-Time" from the same session and their 1978 single "A Stitch In Time". Later, members of Jethro Tull backed Prior on her album Woman in the Wings. Ray Fisher's rare 1972 album Bonny Birdy includes one track with the High Level Ranters, one with Steeleye Span, and one with Martin Carthy.
Until the 1990s Steeleye often toured as part of a double bill, either supporting Status Quo, or featuring support from artists such as Rock Salt & Nails and The Rankin Family. When Steeleye Span supported Status Quo on tour, in 1996, the latter had just issued their version of "All Around My Hat" as a single. "The video was filmed at Christmas," Prior recalled. "We'd supported them, and I found myself down in the mosh pit. Francis saw me and told the audience, 'Oh look, there's a Maddy lookalike down there… Fuck me, it is Maddy!' I was hoyed over the barrier [to the stage], to join them for the encore. It was all very jolly." Status Quo's single is credited to "Status Quo with Maddy Prior from Steeleye Span" and reached number 47 in the charts.
Discography
Studio albums
Hark! The Village Wait (1970)
Please to See the King (1971)
Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (1971)
Below the Salt (1972)
Parcel of Rogues (1973)
Now We Are Six (1974)
Commoners Crown (1975)
All Around My Hat (1975)
Rocket Cottage (1976)
Storm Force Ten (1977)
Sails of Silver (1980)
Back in Line (1986)
Tempted and Tried (1989)
Time (1996)
Horkstow Grange (1998)
Bedlam Born (2000)
Present – The Very Best of Steeleye Span (2002)
They Called Her Babylon (2004)
Winter (2004)
Bloody Men (2006)
Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009)
Wintersmith (2013)
Dodgy Bastards (2016)
Est'd 1969 (2019)
Lost recordings
In 1995 Steeleye recorded "The Golden Vanity" for the Time album, but it did not appear on it. It was released on the anthology The Best of British Folk Rock. Similarly they recorded "General Taylor" for Ten Man Mop but the song did not appear on it. It resurfaced on the compilation album Individually and Collectively instead. It was also included in another compilation The Lark in The Morning (2006), as well as re-issues of Ten Man Mop. "Bonny Moorhen" was recorded at the time of the Parcel of Rogues session. It appears, however, on the compilation album Original Masters, and is also packaged as part of A Parcel of Steeleye Span. The song "Somewhere in London", recorded for Back in Line (1986) was released instead as a B-side single, but returned to its proper place "Back in Line" when the album was reissued in 1991. "Staring Robin", a song about a man described by Tim Harries as an "Elizabethan psycho", was recorded during the Bedlam Born (2000) sessions, but it was left off the final album as it was deemed by Park Records to be too disturbing.
The track "The Holly and the Ivy" was released as the B-side of the Gaudete single and did not appear on any album. It was later released on the 'Steeleye Span: A rare collection' oddities compilation. Several Steeleye songs have never been recorded for a studio album and have only been made available in their live versions, including several tracks on 'Live at Last' and 'Tonight's the night... Live'.
Personnel
Members
Current members
Maddy Prior – vocals
Liam Genockey – drums, percussion
Andrew "Spud" Sinclair – guitars
Julian Littman – guitars
Jessie May Smart – violin
Roger Carey – bass
Violeta Vicci –
Former members
Tim Hart – guitars, dulcimer, mandolin, vocals
Ashley Hutchings – bass
Gay Woods – vocals, bodhran
Terry Woods – guitars, concertina, vocals
Martin Carthy – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Bob Johnson – guitars, vocals
Nigel Pegrum – drums, percussion, flute
John Kirkpatrick – accordion, vocals
Mark Williamson – bass
Chris Staines – bass
Dave Mattacks – drums, percussion
Tim Harries – bass, piano, guitars, vocals
Michael Gregory – drums, percussion
Terl Bryant – drums, percussion
Ken Nicol – guitars, vocals
Peter Knight – strings, keyboards, guitars, vocals
Pete Zorn – guitars, woodwind
Rick Kemp – bass, drums, vocals
Benji Kirkpatrick – bouzouki, banjo, vocals
Lineups
Timeline
Notes and references
Sources
External links
Official website
Steeleye Span's record label
1969 establishments in England
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Ashley Hutchings
British folk rock groups
Chrysalis Records artists
English folk rock groups
Musical groups established in 1969
RCA Records artists
United Artists Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups
| false |
[
"Penfield railway line is a defunct railway in northern Adelaide which was built mainly for industrial purposes during World War II. It started just north of Salisbury station on the Gawler line, running north-west, then north, through defence land in what is now Edinburgh. The line served four stations: Hilra, Penfield 1, Penfield 2, and Penfield 3. It was double track for the whole length, with a balloon loop at the end to allow trains to turn around.\n\nHistory\nThe line opened in 1941 to serve various World War II armaments factories at what was then known as Penfield. Because it was built for industrial purposes, sidings branched off both the up and down tracks at many locations. The largest siding went into what is now RAAF Base Edinburgh, the approximate location of the Salisbury Explosives Factory, built between November 1940 and November 1941.\n\nDuring the war years, the line was used by passenger trains carrying workers to the munitions factories in the area, which manufactured components for the Small Arms Ammunition Factories, as well as freight trains carrying raw materials in and armaments out. Passenger trains were necessary because Salisbury was a semi-rural community at the time and most of the workforce had to be brought in from other districts.\n\nA more limited peak-hour passenger service to Penfield continued after the war, serving staff at the government Weapons Research Establishment, later to become the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO).\n\nThe balloon loop was closed on 8 June 1983, following the derailment of a train composed of Redhens railcars #319, #870, #318, #330, #869 & #331 while traversing it. Services continued to Penfield 3 on the down track and returned on the up track, using a crossover located just south of Penfield 3. The up track beyond Hilra was closed on 14 April 1984, along with most of the sidings. The remaining sidings were closed in 1986, and the whole of the branch had been reduced to single track by the end of the 1980s.\n\nDue to low patronage and the need to fund an upgrade of the worn-out track, the remaining peak-hour services were withdrawn from the Penfield branch in January 1991, The last train ran on 4 January, using a Redhen set, consisting of cars 309, 311, 416 and 415. The track was dismantled in the same year, but about 200m of track from Salisbury station was retained so that trains from Adelaide terminating at Salisbury could change direction back to Adelaide. The short spur remained, but the next section through Hilra station was replaced by a road through an industrial estate.\n\nReferences\n\nClosed railway lines in South Australia\nRailway lines opened in 1941\nRailway lines closed in 1991",
"The is a railway line operated by the Japanese private railway company Kintetsu Railway, connecting Ujiyamada Station in Ise, Mie with Toba Station in Toba, Mie. The line runs parallel to JR Central's Sangū Line.\n\nThe line connects with the Yamada Line at Ujiyamada Station and the Shima Line at Toba Station. The Yamada Line, Toba Line, and Shima Line form a single train line that begins at Ise-Nakagawa Station and serves the Ise-Shima tourist region.\n\nService outline\n LO Local (; )\n For \n For , \n(Locals stop at every station.)\n\n EX Express (; )\n For ; via and (Kashihara)\n For ; via and \n For \n(Expresses typically end at Ujiyamada and Isuzugawa, occasionally run all the way to Toba.)\n\n RE Rapid Express (; )\n For ; via and (Kashihara)\n For \n(Only runs mornings and evenings.)\n(Rapid expresses typically end at Ujiyamada and Isuzugawa, occasionally run all the way to Toba.)\n\n LE Limited Express (; )\n For and ; via and (Kashihara)\n For ; via (Nara)\n For ; via and \n For , \n(Seat reservations and limited express fee required.)\n\n NS Non-stop Limited Express (; )\n For \n For \n For \n(Runs twice a day on weekends.)\n(Seat reservations and limited express fee required.)\n SV Premium Express Shimakaze (; )\n For \n For \n For \n For \n(Train to and from Osaka runs once a day except on Tuesday with some exceptions.)\n(Train to and from Kyoto runs once a day except on Wednesday with some exceptions.)\n(Train to and from Nagoya runs once a day except on Thursday with some exceptions.)\n(Seat reservations, limited express fee and \"Shimakaze\" special vehicle fee required.)\n\nStations\n\nHistory\nThe Toba Line was constructed in the late 1960s / early 1970s to allow Kintetsu to run limited express trains from Osaka and Nagoya as far as in Shima. The decision to build the line was based on Kintetsu wanting to attract visitors from among the many people attending the 1970 World's Fair in Osaka to the Ise-Shima region where Kintetsu runs a variety of tourism business enterprises, and direct rail service would largely improve the bus system that was in place at that time, thereby making it more convenient to travel there.\n\nThe final link\nOriginally, what are now the Osaka Line and the Yamada Line were completed in the late 1920s / early 1930s by two separate companies, but both lines came under the control of Kintetsu in the 1940s. This made possible direct rail service from Osaka to Ise (at that time called Ujiyamada), primarily used by tourists and pilgrims going to Ise Grand Shrine. Also completed in the late 1920s was what is now the Shima Line which runs from Toba to Kashikojima. This line was built by a third independent railway company and went through the ownership of various companies over the years, finally falling under the umbrella of Kintetsu in 1965.\n\nKintetsu now owned train lines that stretched from both Osaka and Nagoya as far as Ise (Ujiyamada Station) as well as a small disconnected line running between Toba and Shima (Kashikojima Station), however there was no Kintetsu rail link between Ise and Toba, meaning Kintetsu passengers bound for Shima had to switch from train to a bus (or a train run by Kintetsu’s main competitor, JNR) in Ise, then back to another Kintetsu train in Toba to complete the journey. The first solution, implemented in the 1960s, was building a bus ramp right up to the train platform of Ujiyamada Station and running buses that were timed to match up with the arriving limited expresses from Osaka and Nagoya, allowing passengers on those trains to easily switch to the bus without leaving the station or waiting long. However, in preparation for the 1970 World's Fair, Kintetsu decided it was a good time to implement the ideal solution which was direct rail access all the way to Kashikojima; thus the Toba Line was built to provide the final link.\n\nConstruction commenced in 1968 and a single track, connecting the Yamada Line and the Shima Line, was completed in 1970 just two weeks before the World's Fair began. Trains on this single-track Toba Line waited for each other to pass at a signal station located between Asama Station and Ikenoura Station near the line's midpoint. The line was officially completed when a second track was finished in 1975, thereby allowing bi-directional travel at all times.\n\nTimeline\nMay 1, 1968 - Construction begins.\nDecember 15, 1969 - First track opens on Ujiyamada ~ Isuzugawa section.\nMarch 1, 1970 - First track opens on Isuzugawa ~ Toba section. Direct service from both Osaka and Nagoya to Kashikojima begins.\nDecember 25, 1971 - Second track opens on Ujiyamada ~ Isuzugawa section.\nApril 11, 1975 - Second track opens on Isuzugawa ~ Asama section.\nDecember 20, 1975 - Second track opens on Asama ~ Toba section. Bi-directional service begins; Shigō Signal Station is closed.\nMay 30, 2001: Wanman driver-only train service begins.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n Kintetsu railway network map - Osaka Line Yamada Line Toba Line Shima Line\n Japan Guide - Shima Peninsula Travel - Toba Aquarium\n Japan Guide - Shima Peninsula Travel - Mikimoto Pearl Island\n\nToba Line\nRail transport in Mie Prefecture\nStandard gauge railways in Japan\nRailway lines opened in 1970"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return"
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
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when did he return
| 1 |
when did Horslips return
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Horslips
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In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
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In March 2004,
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Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| true |
[
"In law, a comminatory is a clause inserted into a law, edict, patent, etc., describing a punishment that is to be imposed on delinquents, which, however, is not in practice executed with the rigor that is conveyed in the description, or not even executed at all.\n\nThus, in some countries, when an exile is enjoined not to return on pain of death, it is deemed a comminatory penalty, since, if he did return, it is not strictly executed, but instead the same threat is laid on him again, which is more than comminatory.\n\nSee also\nColloquy (law)\n\nReferences\n\nPunishments",
"Woodlawn-Rockdale-Milford Mills was a Census-designated place in Baltimore County during the 1960 United States Census, which consists of the communities of Milford Mill, Rockdale and Woodlawn. The population in 1960 was 19,254.\n\nThe census area's name was reorganized as \"Woodlawn-Woodmoor\" during the 1970 Census, when the population recorded was 28,811. Milford Mill did not return separately by census enumerators until 1980. Woodlawn did not return separately by census enumerators until 1980 under the name \"Security\". Rockdale became part of Milford Mill's census area.\n\nGeography\nThe census area of Woodlawn-Rockdale-Milford Mills was located west of Baltimore and southeast of Randallstown.\n\nReferences\n\nGeography of Baltimore County, Maryland\nFormer census-designated places in Maryland"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,"
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
Where had they been
| 2 |
Where had Horslips been
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
CANNOTANSWER
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| false |
[
"Chemical elements that have been mistakenly \"discovered\". Further investigation showed that their discovery was either mistaken, that they have been mistaken from an already-known element, or mixture of two elements, or that they indicated a failing in theory where a new element had been assumed rather than some previously unknown behaviour.\n\nReferences",
"The BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs invites celebrities to become \"castaways\" and choose eight pieces of music that they would take to an imaginary desert island, where they will be marooned indefinitely. During the period listed here, the later rule allowing castaways a book and a luxury item had not yet been introduced and as such, choices have not been listed.\n\n1942\n\n1943\n\n1944\n\n1945\n\n1946\n\nReferences\n\nEpisodes (1942-1946)\n1940s in the United Kingdom\nDesert"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know."
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
what did they do after they returned
| 3 |
what did Horslips do after they returned
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004.
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| true |
[
"\"What Did I Do to You?\" is a song recorded by British singer Lisa Stansfield for her 1989 album, Affection. It was written by Stansfield, Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, and produced by Devaney and Morris. The song was released as the fourth European single on 30 April 1990. It included three previously unreleased songs written by Stansfield, Devaney and Morris: \"My Apple Heart,\" \"Lay Me Down\" and \"Something's Happenin'.\" \"What Did I Do to You?\" was remixed by Mark Saunders and by the Grammy Award-winning American house music DJ and producer, David Morales. The single became a top forty hit in the European countries reaching number eighteen in Finland, number twenty in Ireland and number twenty-five in the United Kingdom. \"What Did I Do to You?\" was also released in Japan.\n\nIn 2014, the remixes of \"What Did I Do to You?\" were included on the deluxe 2CD + DVD re-release of Affection and on People Hold On ... The Remix Anthology. They were also featured on The Collection 1989–2003 box set (2014), including previously unreleased Red Zone Mix by David Morales.\n\nCritical reception\nThe song received positive reviews from music critics. Matthew Hocter from Albumism viewed it as a \"upbeat offering\". David Giles from Music Week said it is \"beautifully performed\" by Stansfield. A reviewer from Reading Eagle wrote that \"What Did I Do to You?\" \"would be right at home on the \"Saturday Night Fever\" soundtrack.\"\n\nMusic video\nA music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Philip Richardson, who had previously directed the videos for \"All Around the World\" and \"Live Together\". It features Stansfield with her kiss curls, dressed in a white outfit and performing with her band on a stage in front of a jumping audience. The video was later published on Stansfield's official YouTube channel in November 2009. It has amassed more than 1,6 million views as of October 2021.\n\nTrack listings\n\n European/UK 7\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK/Japanese CD single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix Edit) – 4:20\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n UK 10\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Mark Saunders Remix) – 5:52\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 5:19\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 4:17\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:59\n\n European/UK 12\" single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"My Apple Heart\" – 4:22\n\"Lay Me Down\" – 3:19\n\"Something's Happenin'\" – 3:15\n\n UK 12\" promotional single\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Morales Mix) – 7:59\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Anti Poll Tax Dub) – 6:31\n\n Other remixes\n\"What Did I Do to You?\" (Red Zone Mix) – 7:45\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nLisa Stansfield songs\n1990 singles\nSongs written by Lisa Stansfield\n1989 songs\nArista Records singles\nSongs written by Ian Devaney\nSongs written by Andy Morris (musician)",
"\"What Would Steve Do?\" is the second single released by Mumm-Ra on Columbia Records, which was released on February 19, 2007. It is a re-recorded version of the self-release they did in April 2006. It reached #40 in the UK Singles Chart, making it their highest charting single.\n\nTrack listings\nAll songs written by Mumm-Ra.\n\nCD\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"Cute As\"\n\"Without You\"\n\n7\"\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"What Would Steve Do? (Floorboard Mix)\"\n\nGatefold 7\"\n\"What Would Steve Do?\"\n\"Cute As\"\n\nReferences\n\n2007 singles\nMumm-Ra (band) songs\n2006 songs\nColumbia Records singles"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know.",
"what did they do after they returned",
"Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004."
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
was the album a hit
| 4 |
was the Horslips album a hit
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
CANNOTANSWER
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| false |
[
"Ben James Peters (born Greenville, Mississippi, June 20, 1933; died Nashville, Tennessee, May 25, 2005) was an American country music songwriter who wrote many #1 songs. Charley Pride recorded 68 of his songs and 6 of them went to #1 on the American country charts. Peters was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1980.\n\nPeters was briefly a recording artist himself; his only charting hit was his own composition \"San Francisco is a Lonely Town\", which hit #46 on the country charts in 1969.\n\nNumber One Compositions in America\n\n\"Turn the World Around\" (1967) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Eddy Arnold & top 5 Billboard chart AC single.\n\"That's A No, No\" was a 1969 #1 Cashbox chart country hit for Lynn Anderson.\n\"Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'\" was a 1971 #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride; it also went to #21 on the American pop charts. It won Ben Peters the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Country Song.\n\"It's Gonna Take a Little Bit Longer\" was a 1972 #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride.\n\"Before the Next Teardrop Falls\" (w/Vivian Keith); first recorded in 1967 by Duane Dee in a version which reached #44 on the Billboard country singles chart early in 1968, the 1975 version by Freddy Fender was a #1 Billboard chart country and a #1 Billboard chart pop hit; it won a Country Music Association Award for Single of the Year in 1975.\n\"Love Put a Song in My Heart\" (1975) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Johnny Rodriguez.\n\"A Whole Lotta Things to Sing About\" was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride in 1976.\n\"Daytime Friends\" (1977) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Kenny Rogers. Westlife covered this song for a special BBC performance with Tony Brown as producer.\n\"Burgers and Fries\" was a 1978 #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride.\n\"Before My Time\" was a 1979 #1 Record World chart country hit for John Conlee and also a #1 hit on Canada's RPM'S country chart.\n\"You're So Good When You're Bad\" (1982) was a #1 Billboard chart country hit for Charley Pride.\n\nOther Number One Compositions\n I Want To Wake Up With You as recorded by Reggae singer, Boris Gardiner (1986-1987). This song was #1 in UK for 3 weeks. This song is one of the biggest hits in the history of reggae music.\n\"Living It Down\" went #1 in Canada's country music charts and it went to #2 as a Billboard chart country hit for Freddy Fender in 1976 in America.\n\nNotable Compositions\n\n\"If The Whole World Stopped Lovin'\" was a #3 pop hit in the UK in November 1967 for the Irish singer Val Doonican. It made #2 in Ireland.\n\"If The Whole World Stopped Lovin'\" was a #12 American Billboard chart hit in 1966 pop hit for Roy Drusky.\n\"Misty Memories\" was a Grammy Nominated country chart hit for Brenda Lee in 1971.\n\"I Need Somebody Bad\" was a #11 Billboard country chart hit for Jack Greene in 1973.\n\"Don't Give Up On Me\" was a #3 American Billboard country chart hit for Jerry Wallace in 1973.\n\"It's Time To Cross That Bridge\" was a #13 Billboard chart country hit for Jack Greene in 1973.\n\"I Can't Believe That It's All Over\" was a #13 Billboard chart country hit for Skeeter Davis in 1973.\n\"All Over Me\" was a 1975 #4 Billboard chart country hit in America for Charlie Rich.\n\"Lovin' On\" was a #20 American Billboard chart country hit for T.G. Sheppard in 1977.\n\"Before the Night is Over\" was recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis originally in 1977 and by Jerry Lee and BB King in 2006.\n\"Puttin' In Overtime At Home\" was a 1977 #8 Billboard chart country hit in America for Charlie Rich. It made #3 in Canada.\n\"Lovin' On\" was a #16 American Billboard chart country hit for Bellamy Brothers in 1978.\n\"Tell Me What It's Like\" (1979) was a #8 American Billboard chart Grammy Nominated country hit for Brenda Lee.\n\"Lost My Baby Blues\" was a 1982 top 5 Billboard chart country hit in America for David Frizzell. It made #5 in Canada.\n\"I'm Only a Woman\" recorded by Tammy Wynette.\n\nNotable History Making Albums\n\nPeters had 3 songs, \"The Little Town Square\", \"That's A No No\" and \"Satan Place\" on the million selling The Harper Valley P.T.A. album. This is a pop culture music album by Jeannie C. Riley released in 1968. This is Jeannie C. Riley's biggest album ever. The album was released by Plantation Records, and was very successful. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard pop album chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard country album chart.\nPeters had 2 songs, \"Mr. Mistletoe\" and \"Soon It Will Be Christmas Day\" on The Christmas Album. This is a holiday music album by country music singer Lynn Anderson released in 1971. This was Lynn Anderson's first Christmas music album. The album was released by Columbia Records, and was very successful. The album reached No. 13 on the \"Billboard 200\" in 1971 (her highest chart position on that chart).\nPeters had 1 song, \"Daytime Friends\" on the 4 million selling 10 Years of Gold album. This is a collection of 10 years of Kenny Rogers hits. The album was released by United Artist, and went No. 1 on the Billboard country album chart in 1977.\nPeters had 1 song, \"Daytime Friends\" on the 4 million selling Kenny Rogers 20 Greatest Hits album. This is a collection of his hits prior to this project released in 1983. The album was released by Liberty Records, and was successful.\n\nReferences\n\nAmerican country songwriters\nAmerican male songwriters\nUniversity of Southern Mississippi alumni\n2005 deaths\n1933 births\nMusicians from Greenville, Mississippi\n20th-century American musicians\nSongwriters from Mississippi\n20th-century American male musicians",
"Carpark North is the debut album by Danish electronic rock band Carpark North. It was released on 10 February 2003.\n\nTwo songs from the album were previously released: \"There's a Place\" in 2001 on the airwaves of Danish national radio, and \"40 Days\" on Carpark North's 40 Days EP.\n\nThe album was used as a soundtrack for the Danish teen-horror hit movie \"Midsommer\". The first single from the album, \"Transparent & Glasslike\" was an instant hit on the radio, and the album sold 10,000 units the first week. Over the following months the debut was certified platinum in Denmark, and the following Danish tour was sold out.\n\nIn 2005, the song \"Homeland\" was used in the hit American TV series Alias.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2003 debut albums\nCarpark North albums\nAlbums produced by Joshua (record producer)"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know.",
"what did they do after they returned",
"Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004.",
"was the album a hit",
"I don't know."
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
| 5 |
Other than the Horslips return being mentioned, Are there any other interesting aspects about this article on Horslips?
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| true |
[
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know.",
"what did they do after they returned",
"Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004.",
"was the album a hit",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006"
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
what exhibition was there
| 6 |
what exhibition was there for Horslips' return
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry.
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| true |
[
"Volleyball was contested at the Far Eastern Championship Games and was one of the eight main sports on the programme.\n\nEditions\n\nExhibition\nAt the 1923 edition, women's volleyball was an exhibition event. Japan, represented by students of the Himeji Women's Higher School were champions with the Republic of China as runners-up. It was also held in the 1930 editions with Japan, China and the Philippines sending volleyball teams. In the first games there was a limit on what clothes you could were, with competitors only being allowed to wear one of two outfits. The Japanese team \"outclassed\" the two other teams. The current world record holder for volleyball is Jeffrey Simons.\n\nReferences\n\nVolleyball\nFar Eastern Championship Games",
"The Jamaica International Exhibition was held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 27 January 1891 to 2 May 1891. It was modelled on the London Great Exhibition of 1851 and was the idea of Augustus Constantine Sinclair who ran the Government Printing Office in Jamaica.\n\nBackground\nIn the 1880s, Jamaica's economy was in decline. Sugar exports were only a quarter of what they had been the start of the century, and the banana export business was in its infancy. There was a great need to promote Jamaican products to the world and attract investment to the island.\n\nThe idea to hold an international exhibition to promote Jamaican industry similar to the 1851 Great Exhibition in London is generally credited to Augustus Constantine Sinclair, head of the Government Printing Office in Jamaica, with subsequent support from William Fawcett, director of gardens and chairman of the Institute of Jamaica. For many years, they were unable to drum up sufficient support for the project, but in 1889 Sir Henry Blake arrived as the new governor of Jamaica and gave the idea his blessing.\n\nThe exhibition\nThe exhibition was funded by a £1,000 grant from the British government and loans from the Jamaican government which were guaranteed by locals in case the exhibition failed. Louis Verley, George Stiebel, and Colonel Charles Ward, between them guaranteed about half the cost.\n\nThe exhibition opened on 27 January 1891.\n\nA special medal was produced for the event, showing Queen Victoria on one side and the exhibition hall on the other. Versions were minted in silver-plated brass and gold.\n\nThe exhibition closed on 2 May 1891 after receiving 302,831 visitors. Despite the high levels of attendance, the exhibition made a loss, resulting in those that had given guarantees being required to provide nearly £30,000 to make up the shortfall.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n\nhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/25102131\nhttp://jamaica-history.weebly.com/foundry.html\nhttp://jamaica-history.weebly.com/1891.html\n\nHistory of the Colony of Jamaica\nExhibitions\n1891 in Jamaica"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know.",
"what did they do after they returned",
"Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004.",
"was the album a hit",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006",
"what exhibition was there",
"In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry."
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
was it a popular exhibition
| 7 |
was the Horslips return event a popular exhibition
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| true |
[
"The Museu de Arte Popular is a museum in Lisbon, Portugal.\n\nIt was originally designed by Veloso Reis and João Simões for the Portuguese World Exhibition's popular life pavilion in 1940, and after the exhibition was refurbished and in 1948.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nOfficial Museu de Arte Popular website—\n\nArt museums and galleries in Portugal\nMuseums in Lisbon\nBelém (Lisbon)\nWorld's fair architecture in Lisbon\nMuseums established in 1948",
"The Portuguese World Exhibition () was held in Lisbon in 1940 to mark 800 years since the foundation of the country and 300 years since the restoration of independence from Spain.\n\nThe fair ran from 23 June to 2 December 1940, held on the Praça do Império, and was attended by 3 million people.\n\nOrganizers\nAugusto de Castro was the commissioner general, Júlio Dantas president of committee, the master architect, António Ferro (director), and lead engineer Duarte Pacheco.\n\nThe exhibition was opened by President Carmona, with Oliveira Salazar also in attendance.\n\nContents\nThe fair was divided into three main sections of display: history, ethnography, and the colonial world.\n\nMonument to Discoveries\nA monument to the discoveries of Portugal Padrão dos Descobrimentos was designed by Pardal Monteiro and Cottinelli Telmo and erected in the Praça do Império (it was dismantled in 1943).\n\nNautical sports\nA modernist restaurant and beer hall was designed by António Lino with guidance from Cottinelli Telmo. In 2014, it was remodelled to become a nightclub and bar.\n\nPopular life\nThe pavilion of popular life was designed by Veloso Reis and João Simões and after the exhibition was refurbished and opened as Lisbon's Museum of Popular Art in 1948.\n\nBrazil\nThe Brazil pavilion, named Independent Brazilian Pavilion, was designed by Raul Lino, with interiors by Roberto Lacombe. Its contents included a large photographic mural and a reading room with 5000 works. It had an art section including paintings by Lucílio de Albuquerque, Arthur Timótheo da Costa, Oscar Pereira da Silva and Candido Portinari.\n\nNau Portugal\nNau Portugal was a galleon replica, built by the Mónicas's Family Shipyard, it was exhibited near the Maritime Discoveries Pavillion. It suffered irreparable damages with the cyclone of 1941. After that, it was dismantled and transformed into a barge.\n\nSee also\n Portuguese colonial exhibition\n Exhibition of the centenary of the opening of the Ports of Brazil\n\nReferences\n\nWorld Exhibition\nBelém (Lisbon)\nEvents in Lisbon\n1940 in Portugal\n1940s in Lisbon\n1940 establishments in Portugal\n1940 disestablishments in Portugal"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know.",
"what did they do after they returned",
"Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004.",
"was the album a hit",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006",
"what exhibition was there",
"In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry.",
"was it a popular exhibition",
"In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal."
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
what else did they do around this time
| 8 |
Other than the exhibition, what else did the Horslips do around the event
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry.
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| false |
[
"\n\nTrack listing\n Opening Overture\n \"I Get a Kick Out of You\" (Cole Porter)\n \"You Are the Sunshine of My Life\" (Stevie Wonder)\n \"You Will Be My Music\" (Joe Raposo)\n \"Don't Worry 'bout Me\" (Ted Koehler, Rube Bloom)\n \"If\" (David Gates)\n \"Bad, Bad Leroy Brown\" (Jim Croce)\n \"Ol' Man River\" (Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II)\n Famous Monologue\n Saloon Trilogy: \"Last Night When We Were Young\"/\"Violets for Your Furs\"/\"Here's That Rainy Day\" (Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg)/(Matt Dennis, Tom Adair)/(Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke)\n \"I've Got You Under My Skin\" (Porter)\n \"My Kind of Town\" (Sammy Cahn, Van Heusen)\n \"Let Me Try Again\" (Paul Anka, Cahn, Michel Jourdan)\n \"The Lady Is a Tramp\" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart)\n \"My Way\" (Anka, Claude Francois, Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut)\n\nFrank Sinatra's Monologue About the Australian Press\nI do believe this is my interval, as we say... We've been having a marvelous time being chased around the country for three days. You know, I think it's worth mentioning because it's so idiotic, it's so ridiculous what's been happening. We came all the way to Australia because I chose to come here. I haven't been here for a long time and I wanted to come back for a few days. Wait now, wait. I'm not buttering anybody at all. I don't have to. I really don't have to. I like coming here. I like the people. I love your attitude. I like the booze and the beer and everything else that comes into the scene. I also like the way the country's growing and it's a swinging place.\n\nSo we come here and what happens? We gotta run all day long because of the parasites who chase us with automobiles. That's dangerous, too, on the road, you know. Might cause an accident. They won't quit. They wonder why I won't talk to them. I wouldn't drink their water, let alone talk to them. And if any of you folks in the press are in the audience, please quote me properly. Don't mix it up, do it exactly as I'm saying it, please. Write it down very clearly. One idiot called me up and he wanted to know what I had for breakfast. What the hell does he care what I had for breakfast? I was about to tell him what I did after breakfast. Oh, boy, they're murder! We have a name in the States for their counterparts: They're called parasites. Because they take and take and take and never give, absolutely, never give. I don't care what you think about any press in the world, I say they're bums and they'll always be bums, everyone of them. There are just a few exceptions to the rule. Some good editorial writers who don't go out in the street and chase people around. Critics don't bother me, because if I do badly, I know I'm bad before they even write it, and if I'm good, I know I'm good before they write it. It's true. I know best about myself. So, a critic is a critic. He doesn't anger me. It's the scandal man who bugs you, drives you crazy. It's the two-bit-type work that they do. They're pimps. They're just crazy, you know. And the broads who work in the press are the hookers of the press. Need I explain that to you? I might offer them a buck and a half... I'm not sure. I once gave a chick in Washington $2 and I overpaid her, I found out. She didn't even bathe. Imagine what that was like, ha, ha.\n\nNow, it's a good thing I'm not angry. Really. It's a good thing I'm not angry. I couldn't care less. The press of the world never made a person a star who was untalented, nor did they ever hurt any artist who was talented. So we, who have God-given talent, say, \"To hell with them.\" It doesn't make any difference, you know. And I want to say one more thing. From what I see what's happened since I was last here... what, 16 years ago? Twelve years ago. From what I've seen to happen with the type of news that they print in this town shocked me. And do you know what is devastating? It's old-fashioned. It was done in America and England twenty years ago. And they're catching up with it now, with the scandal sheet. They're rags, that's what they are. You use them to train your dog and your parrot. What else do I have to say? Oh, I guess that's it. That'll keep them talking to themselves for a while. I think most of them are a bunch of fags anyway. Never did a hard day's work in their life. I love when they say, \"What do you mean, you won't stand still when I take your picture?\" All of a sudden, they're God. We gotta do what they want us to do. It's incredible. A pox on them... Now, let's get down to some serious business here...\n\nSee also\nConcerts of Frank Sinatra\n\nFrank Sinatra",
"What Else Do You Do? (A Compilation of Quiet Music) is a various artists compilation album, released in 1990 by Shimmy Disc.\n\nTrack listing\n\nPersonnel \nAdapted from the What Else Do You Do? (A Compilation of Quiet Music) liner notes.\n Kramer – production, engineering\n\nRelease history\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\n1990 compilation albums\nAlbums produced by Kramer (musician)\nShimmy Disc compilation albums"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know.",
"what did they do after they returned",
"Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004.",
"was the album a hit",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006",
"what exhibition was there",
"In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry.",
"was it a popular exhibition",
"In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.",
"what else did they do around this time",
"In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry."
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
did they do anything else after the RTE
| 9 |
In addition to the event exhibition, did the Horslips do anything else after the RTE
|
Horslips
|
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
|
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience.
|
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
| true |
[
"Ask Me Anything may refer to:\n Ask Me Anything (film), 2014\n Ask Me Anything (album), 2015, by Jamie McDell\n \"Ask Me Anything\", a song by the Strokes on their album First Impressions of Earth\n Ask Me Anything (AMA), a common post topic in the /r/IAmA subreddit of Reddit\n Angela Scanlon's Ask Me Anything, an RTE programme in Ireland",
"Anything Goes was a \"youth oriented\" television series of Ireland's public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. It first aired on 4 October 1980 and was on the RTÉ1 channel. It lasted for six seasons and finished in 1986.\n\nOverview\nThe presenters of the show were Mary FitzGerald, Dave Heffernan, Aonghus McAnally, and Kathy Parke.\n\nAnything Goes's audience was aimed at children and teenagers. The content of the programme included music, visits from public figures, competitions, filmed items, and cartoons. There was also coverage of news and current issues relevant to children.\n\nA popular aspect of the series was an arts and crafts \"Make and Do\" segment where presenter Mary FitzGerald demonstrated simple cooking and crafts.\n\nThe interviewees who appeared on the show included Roald Dahl, David Attenborough, Bono, Adam Ant and Toyah Wilcox.\n\nMusical acts\nThe bands that appeared on \"Anything Goes\" included: In Tua Nua, The Atrix, The Babysnakes, The Crack, Cruella De Ville, The End, Soon, G Squad, Tokyo Olympics, Driveshaft, Porcelyn Tears, The Sussed, The Stars of Heaven, and Montage.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n RTE Archives: Anything Goes: Decorating Easter Eggs\n The Fanning Session Archives: Anything Goes\n YouTube: Anything Goes Clip\n\n1980 Irish television series debuts\n1986 Irish television series endings\n1980s Irish television series\nIrish television shows featuring puppetry\nRTÉ original programming"
] |
[
"Horslips",
"Return",
"when did he return",
"In March 2004,",
"Where had they been",
"I don't know.",
"what did they do after they returned",
"Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004.",
"was the album a hit",
"I don't know.",
"Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?",
"The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006",
"what exhibition was there",
"In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry.",
"was it a popular exhibition",
"In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.",
"what else did they do around this time",
"In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry.",
"did they do anything else after the RTE",
"The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience."
] |
C_fc1dae6e645449a584de1df7b22f77f0_0
|
Did they ever tour?
| 10 |
Did the Horslips ever tour?
|
Horslips
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In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs. The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal. A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test. In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTE television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980. The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs frequently inspired by traditional Irish airs, jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts. They formed in 1970 and 'retired' in 1980 for an extended period. The name originated from a spoonerism on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse which became "The Four Poxmen of The Horslypse".
Although Horslips had limited commercial success when the band was playing in the 70s, there was a revival of interest in their music in the late 1990s and they came to be regarded as one of the defining bands of the Celtic rock genre. There have since been small scale reunions including appearances on The Late Late Show and RTÉ's Other Voices. The band reformed for two Irish shows in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the 3Arena in Dublin at the end of 2009, and have continued to play shows since then.
Band members
Jim Lockhart (born 3 February 1948), from James's St in Dublin, studied Economics and Politics at University College Dublin. He fell under the influence of Seán Ó Riada, wanting to build an orchestral sound out of Irish music. He plays keyboards, pipes, whistles and flute. He did vocals on a select number of songs, mainly in Manx or Irish.
Eamon Carr (born 12 November 1948), is from Kells, County Meath. He was one of the founding members of a poetry and beat performance group called Tara Telephone in Dublin in the late 60s that also published the quarterly literary journal Capella. He is the drummer in the band.
Charles O'Connor, (Born 7 September 1948) from Middlesbrough in the UK plays concertina, mandolin, fiddle and both electric and slide guitar. He also shares the main vocal tasks with Barry Devlin and Johnny Fean.
Barry Devlin (born 27 November 1946), from Ardboe in County Tyrone, once trained as a Columban priest. He left this to study English in University College Dublin and afterwards joined a graphics company as a screenwriter. He is the band's bass player, shares vocals, and is its unofficial front man.
Johnny Fean (born 17 November 1951) spent his childhood in the city of Limerick and in Shannon, County Clare. He soon mastered guitar, banjo, mandolin and harmonica. In his teens, he played in sessions in Limerick and County Clare. Fean developed his listening tastes from rock to blues and incorporated it into his guitar style. In his late teens he played in a group called Sweet Street, with Joe O'Donnell on electric fiddle and Eugene Wallace. He later played in Jeremiah Henry, a rock and blues band. His idols were Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He left Jeremiah Henry in 1970 to play traditional music again in Limerick.
Career
Original line-up
Barry Devlin, Eamon Carr and Charles O'Connor met when they worked at the Ark advertising company in Dublin. They were cajoled into pretending to be a band for a Harp Lager commercial but needed a keyboard player. Devlin said he knew a Jim Lockhart who would fit the bill. The four enjoyed the act so much that they decided to try being proper rock performers. They joined guitarist Declan Sinnott, a colleague of Eamon Carr's from Tara Telephone and, briefly, Gene Mulvaney to form Horslips (originally Horslypse) in 1970.
The band went professional on St Patrick's Day 1972 having shed Mulvaney and released a single, "Johnny's Wedding", on their own record label, Oats. Declan Sinnott left soon after, primarily due to his annoyance at the group appearing in an advert for Mirinda orange drink (shot in the grounds of Ardmore Studios Bray in Easter 1972) and was replaced by Gus Guest briefly, then Johnny Fean.
Albums
Horslips designed their own artwork, wrote sleeve-notes and researched the legends that they made into concept albums. They established their own record label, Oats, and licensed the recordings through Atco, RCA and DJM for release outside Ireland. They kept their base in Ireland, unlike previous Irish bands.
In October 1972, Horslips went to Longfield House in Tipperary and recorded their first album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part, in the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They then released another single, "Green Gravel". On the first album the melodies were mostly traditional. Jim Lockhart was on keyboards and gradually mastered other instruments including uillean pipes. Eamon Carr was on drums, including the Irish bodhrán. Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part was the fastest-selling album for eight years in Ireland. The sleeve was an elaborate concertina-shaped fold-out design.
The Abbey Theatre in Dublin asked the band to provide the background for a stage adaptation of "The Táin". They leapt at the opportunity. "Táin Bó Cúailnge" (The Cattle-Raid of Cooley) is a tenth-century story written in Old and Middle Irish. It tells of an ancient war between Ulster and Connacht. The Táin was released in 1973 and had more original material alongside the traditional tunes, and greater emphasis on rock. In the same year a single, "Dearg Doom", went to number one in Germany.
Dancehall Sweethearts followed in 1974, and also balanced folk with rock. Their fourth album, The Unfortunate Cup of Tea, drifted toward pop music and was generally considered less successful. RCA ended their funding deal for the group in 1975. The group funded their next venture themselves and went back to basics. Drive The Cold Winter Away (also 1975) was their most traditional album to date. They signed with DJM Records worldwide through A&R man Frank Neilson. The Book of Invasions: A Celtic Symphony (1976), like The Táin, was an adaptation of Irish legends built into a complex story. It became their only entry in the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 39 in 1977.
Ever ambitious, the band now tried to make it in the United States. They brought in Jim Slye to become their manager. He later sold their publishing rights to William McBurney for £4,000. In 1977 they produced Aliens, about the experience of the Irish in nineteenth-century America, which included little folk music. They toured Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States. The night they played the Albert Hall in London was described by one critic as the loudest gig there since Hendrix. The Man Who Built America (1978), produced by Steve Katz of Blood, Sweat and Tears and Blues Project fame, concerned Irish emigration to the US and received considerable airplay but broad approval was missing. The heavier sound did bring some acceptance in America but they lost their folk base and their freshness. Short Stories, Tall Tales (1979) was their last studio album and was panned by the record company and critics alike.
"The Last Time"
At a time when The Troubles were at its peak, Horslips played gigs in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland without prejudice and were accepted everywhere. Their last recordings were from live performances at the Whitla Hall in Belfast April and May 1980. A few months later, on 12 October 1980 they played their final gig in the Ulster Hall. They made no public announcement. They simply gave an encore — the Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time" (this was a reference to the recording studio of their first album) and the final act was Charles O'Connor throwing his mangled fiddle into the audience. Ten years after they formed, they disbanded.
Musical life after the break up
Even before Horslips ended, Johnny Fean, Eamon Carr and two others founded the Zen Alligators in 1980. They played straight rock and soul on the Irish circuit, and they recorded several singles. Another spin-off group called Host contained Fean, O'Connor and Carr. They issued one album, Tryal, in 1984, and two singles.
The final album that had a Fean/Carr collaboration in the 1980s was The Last Bandits in the World (1986).
Barry Devlin issued a solo album called Breaking Star Codes in 1983 with some help from Jim Lockhart. The album had 12 songs, each based, loosely, on the signs of the zodiac. Further Lockhart/Devlin collaborations included the theme tune to the popular RTÉ drama series Glenroe.
In 1986, Johnny Fean moved to England. An English indie band called Jacobites (1983 to 1986) consisted of Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth. Their 1986 album Ragged School had Johnny on guitar. He also played sporadically with a Horslips tribute band Spirit of Horslips and pub gigs with pick up three-piece The Treat, which sometimes featured former Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell instead of Fean.
In 1990, the electric guitar intro to "Dearg Doom" was used for Put 'Em Under Pressure, Ireland's 1990 World Cup song, written by Larry Mullen and featuring the Republic of Ireland national football team and Moya Brennan. This use of the intro may be better known in Ireland than the original.
Charles O'Connor released an instrumental album, Angel on the Mantelpiece, in collaboration with Paul Whittaker in 1997.
Further activities
Johnny Fean continued to play live music with Stephen Travers, formerly of The Miami Showband.
After his retirement, Eamon Carr went on to become a producer of young rock talent in the mid-1980s, and also formed his own record label called Hotwire (which sponsored noted acts such as the punk rock group The Golden Horde). He also did a number of specialist DJ slots on radio before morphing into a music/sports journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin. More recently he presented on a Dublin station 'Carr's Cocktail Shack' in which he played American music of the 1950s and 1960s. In 2008, Carr and Henry McCullough co-wrote a new bunch of songs. A resulting album entitled Poor Man's Moon was released on 1 September 2008. Also in 2008, Carr released his first book, The Origami Crow, Journey Into Japan, World Cup Summer 2002, a book that is at once a travel log about his journey to Japan, a poetry collection, an homage to Japanese poet Bashō, and also has some sports commentary thrown in.
Barry Devlin directed for the screen and been a drama writer for radio and screen, as can be seen from his credits on the IMDB and for the radio detective drama Baldi He produced a number of U2 videos in the mid-1980s. Examples of his screen writing are evident in the joint RTÉ/BBC production Ballykissangel and ITV's The Darling Buds of May.
Jim Lockhart is head of production at RTÉ 2fm and has also done some production work and music arrangement.
Charles O'Connor owns two antique shops in Whitby, England. O'Connor continued to record folk and traditional music in his home recording studio.
Copyright issues
For 20 years William McBurney, head of Belfast-based Outlet Records for over 40 years, received royalties from the sales of vinyl and CDs, including many compilations. He claimed that he bought the rights in good faith from Jim Slye, who managed Horslips from the late 1970s until the band's final gig. However, the quality of these releases left much to be desired. Shoddy artwork and poor sound meant that most of these releases were sold at bargain prices, leaving the five former band members disillusioned. They fought back and on 7 March 1999 won a court victory in Belfast for copyright ownership and a substantial financial settlement. Horslips are now once again fully in control of their music and they released the entire back catalogue on CD in 2000/2001 with updated artwork and digitally remastered sound.
Return
In March 2004, three Horslips enthusiasts, Jim Nelis, Stephen Ferris and Paul Callaghan, put on an exhibition of Horslips memorabilia in The Orchard Gallery in Derry. It was opened by the band, who played five songs acoustically. Buoyed by this first public appearance in 24 years, Horslips returned to the studio in Westmeath to produce a studio album, Roll Back, in the summer of 2004. Described as "Horslips Unplugged", the album contained acoustic reworkings of many of their best-known songs.
The same exhibition moved to Drogheda in October 2005, courtesy of longtime fan Paddy Goodwin, and was formally opened on 6 October by a tribute band, Horslypse, composed of nine teenage musicians. Horslips did a version of "Furniture". The exhibition moved to Belfast in February and March 2006 and there were plans for a New York showing in 2007. In February 2008, the exhibition opened in Ballinamore in County Leitrim, and in July it opened in Ballybofey in Donegal.
A double DVD entitled Return of the Dancehall Sweethearts came out in November 2005. Disc one is a documentary and disc two was live footage of the band from the 1970s, including promo videos and slots on The Old Grey Whistle Test.
In December 2005, the band played in front of an invited audience for the recording of the RTÉ television program Other Voices in Dingle in County Kerry. Part of the set included three songs done "full-on" - the first time the band had played live and electric since October 1980.
The last Horslips' event in this phase of their career was a TG4 tribute show recorded and broadcast live on 25 March 2006 before a live invited studio audience. A number of Irish personalities were interviewed, in Irish, about what the band meant to them and how Horslips shaped modern Irish music.
2009 reunion to present
On 2 July 2009, it was announced that Horslips would reunite for two shows, their first 'open public' gigs since 1980. The band played the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on 3 December and the 3Arena in Dublin on 5 December. Drummer Eamon Carr did not play the concerts, citing personal reasons, though he was fully supportive and remains a fifth member. His place was taken by Johnny Fean's brother Ray Fean. Recordings from these shows were released on the DVD/CD 'Live at the O2' in November 2010. The O2 Arena has since been renamed as The 3Arena. The Irish band Something Happens were the support act for the show in The 3Arena.
The band played two invitation-only warm up gigs in McHugh's of Drogheda on 26 and 27 November. The band was set to play at "Live at the Marquee" Cork City on 26 June 2010, but the concert was cancelled due to Jim Lockhart falling ill.
In November and December 2010, Horslips, again with Ray Fean on percussion, returned with a four gig tour of Ireland. These included the INEC (Ireland's National Event Centre) in Killarney (27 November), the Royal Theatre in Castlebar (28 November), the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (1 December) and culminated in a return to the O2 Arena on 4 December. They played at the 2011 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow's "Old Fruitmarket" on 18 January.
On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Horslips would be special guests under Fairport Convention at Fairport's Cropredy Convention 2011. They performed on 13 August.
On St Patrick's Day, 17 March 2011, the band played a BBC concert with the Ulster Orchestra at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
On 3 June 2012, Horslips performed as the headline act at the Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival in Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal.
On 25 and 26 August 2012, Horslips played two shows in the national concert hall with the RTÉ concert orchestra in Dublin.
On 4 November 2013, Horslips released their biography Tall Tales. The book was written by Mark Cunningham and features interviews with the band. A double album featuring all the group's singles released outside Ireland, called Biography, was also released.
On the Summer Solstice (21 June) 2014, Horslips played at Dunluce Castle, near Portrush in Northern Ireland.
In August 2014, Horslips played at Milkmarket in Limerick, County Limerick.
On 12 March 2019, two of the band, Barry Devlin and Jim Lockhart, played at an event in the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to commemorate the occupation by radical students of the administration block at University College, Dublin, 50 years before. They joined the house band for the night, made up of members of Chris Meehan and his Redneck Friends, along with other well-known musicians, actors and performers who had been involved in the events of 1969, when the building that is now the NCH was part of UCD.
On 11 and 12 May 2019, with Charles retired from music, original members Barry, Johnny and Jim plus Ray Fean (drums) played two concerts at Belfast's Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, at Custom House Square. The shows were promoted as 'Barry Devlin, Johnny Fean & Jim Lockhart from Horslips'.
Discography
Original studio albums
Happy to Meet – Sorry to Part (1972)
The Táin (1973)
Dancehall Sweethearts (1974)
The Unfortunate Cup of Tea (1975)
Drive the Cold Winter Away (1975)
The Book of Invasions (1976) UK No. 39
Aliens (1977) U.S. No. 98
The Man Who Built America (1978) U.S. No. 155
Short Stories/Tall Tales (1979)
Roll Back (2004)
Compilation albums
Tracks from the Vaults (1977)
Treasury (2009)
Biography (2013)
Live albums
Horslips Live (1976)
The Belfast Gigs (1980)
Live at the O2 (2010)
Live with the Ulster Orchestra (2011)
Books
Tall Tales (2013)
References
External links
Official website for Horslips
Official website for Johnny Fean and Steve Travers
Come Back Horslips Fansite
Carr's Cocktail Shack Radio Website
Tara Telephone Archival History Fansite
Performance and Interview Pt.1
Interview Pt.2
Horslips page on Irish Rockers website
Irish progressive rock groups
Celtic rock music
Irish folk rock groups
Celtic fusion musicians
Musical groups established in 1970
Musical groups disestablished in 1980
Atco Records artists
DJM Records artists
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[
"This is a complete list of tours by Australian band the Veronicas. As of 2015, they have headlined five national tours, two international tours and have supported six other tours. They have also done many mini tours.\n\n2006 US Tour\n\nThe US tour was their first ever headlining tour. The tour was in support of their first album The Secret Life of.... The tour began on 28 January 2006 and finished 3 March 2006. The supporting acts were October Fall and Jonas Brothers.\n\nTour dates\n\nAustralian Tour 2006\n\nThe Australian Tour was their first ever tour in Australia. The nine date tour commenced on 13 April 2006 in Newcastle and concluded on 24 April 2006. The supporting act was Elemeno P. All the shows were sell outs.\n\nTour dates\n\nThe Revolution Tour\n\nThe Revolution Tour is the Veronicas second Australian tour and was announced in June, 2006. This tour marked one year since they released their first single, \"4ever\", in 2005. The tour commenced on 4 August and finished on 27 August 2006. Supporting acts were originally Avalon Drive and Ryan Cabrera but Cabrera dropped out of the tour due to his split from Veronicas twin Lisa.\n\nTour dates\n\nExposed... The Secret Life of The Veronicas\nOn 2 December 2006 the Veronicas released a CD/DVD, entitled Exposed... The Secret Life of The Veronicas in Australia which featured live performances from the Revolution Tour and a DVD featuring parts of the sisters' live performances throughout 2005–2006, including footage that had previously not been seen, and their music videos. The album debuted at #6 on the ARIA DVD Charts accrediting platinum in its first week. The second week it rose to its peak of #3 and was accredited Double Platinum.\n\nHook Me Up Tour\n\nThe Hook Me Up Tour is the Veronicas third national tour of Australia supporting their second album Hook Me Up. The tour went for 10 shows beginning on 30 November 2007 and finishing on 12 December 2007. The supporting acts for the tour were Dean Geyer and Calerway.\n\nTour dates\n\nRevenge Is Sweeter Tour\n\nThe Revenge Is Sweeter Tour is a tour by the Veronicas which was announced in November 2008.\n\nTour information\nThe sixteen date tour was their first to extend outside of Australia into New Zealand. The tour will begin on 13 February 2009 in Newcastle and conclude on 7 March 2009 in Dunedin, New Zealand. On 3 April 2009 they announced the show would continue with a US leg starting on 4 June 2009 and ending on 18 July 2009 and then continuing in Japan from 7 to 9 August 2009. On 5 May 2009 it was announced that there would be two shows in Canada one on 27 June and the other on 15 July before they head to Japan. Was announced on 4 August 2009 that while on a promotional visit to the United Kingdom 3 dates of the tour would be played from 23–25 September 2009. A CD/DVD version of the tour was released on 1 September 2009 in Australia. After the tour ended they made their first show in Latin America in the Los Premios MTV Latinoamérica 2009 in Bogota, Colombia.\n\nSupporting acts\nShort Stack (Australia)\nMetro Station (Australia and New Zealand)\nMidnight Youth (New Zealand)\nP Money (New Zealand)\nAngry Anderson (Guest performer on 19 February in Sydney)\nThe Pretty Reckless (USA) (select venues)\n Carney (USA/Canada) (select venues)\nThe Federals (UK) (All Venues)\n\nTour dates\n\nCritical reception\nThe tour received mostly positive reviews commenting on the crowd atmosphere and their vocal abilities.\n\nGenQ stated \"...the girls were on stage for 1 ½ hours of entertainment in every sense of the word\".\n \nThe Courier Mail gave a positive review saying \"There was plenty of sass, not to mention skin-tight sequined pants, multiple costume changes and lashings of red lipstick, but the girls' big voices were the main attraction\" as well as commenting on their performance of 'Heavily Broken' stating \"Their emotion-laden ballad Heavily Broken, dedicated to the victims of Victoria's Bushfires, was the only thing that could draw silence from the crowd\" and ended it with a comment on the shows family friendly nature saying \"If the applause was any indicator, Saturday night's crowd - mums and dads included - were proud of their local girls done good\".\n\nAdelaide Now reviewed their performance at the Thebarton Theatre and commented on their stage presence saying \"With a string quartet brought in for some songs, back-up dancers for others, the Veronicas delivered a varied and energy filled set\"\n\nSet list\n\"Take Me on the Floor\"\n\"Everything\"\n\"Popular\"\n\"Mouth Shut\"\n\"Revolution\"\n\"Revenge Is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were)\"\n\"Secret\"\n\"Mother Mother\"\n\"Hook Me Up\"\n\"This Love\"\n\"Don't Say Goodbye\"\n\"Heavily Broken\"\n\"4ever\"\n\"Everything I'm Not\"\n\"I Could Get Used to This\"\n\"All I Have\"\n\"When It All Falls Apart\"\n\"Untouched\"\n\"This Is How It Feels\"\n\nSource:\n\nSanctified Tour\n\nSanctified Tour \n\nOn 19 November 2014, the Veronicas announced via their official Twitter account that they will embark on a month-long Australian tour to promote The Veronicas in 2015. The tour is set to begin on 12 February 2015 in Perth and end on 21 February in Brisbane. An announcement on 19 January revealed that the Sanctified Tour dates will include shows in the UK from 6–11 March with support from Los Angeles-based band Badflower. They announced the American leg in May. The duo cancelled the American leg of the tour due to technical issues in June.\n\nSETLIST:\n \"Sanctified\" \n \"Did You Miss Me? (I'm A Veronica)\" \n \"Take Me on the Floor\" \n \"Line of Fire\" \n \"Hook Me Up\" \n \"Revenge Is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were)\" \n \"Teenage Millionaire\" \n \"Always\" \n \"Let Me Out\"\n \"Everything I'm Not\" \n \"You Ruin Me\" \n \"Untouched\" \n \"Cruel\" \n \"Cold\" \n \"This Is How It Feels\"\n \"4ever\"\n \"You and Me\"\n \"If You Love Someone\"\n\nGodzilla V Human Tour \nThe Godzilla V Human tour is The Veronicas seventh concert tour. The tour was announced on March 26, 2021.\n\nTour dates\n\nAs supporting acts\nIn late 2005, the Veronicas supported American musician Ryan Cabrera on a tour through the US along with the Click Five.\nIn June 2006 the Veronicas were an opening act (along with Ashley Parker Angel) for the Ashlee Simpson US summer tour, but after the first few shows Lisa and Jess had to pull out after Lisa became ill with throat nodules and needed surgery.\n The Veronicas supported Natasha Bedingfield on her 20 date US tour that started on 21 May 2008 in Myrtle Beach and ended on 10 July in San Francisco, Kate Voegele was also a supporting artist on the tour.\n The Veronicas supported American pop-rock band the Jonas Brothers for the last leg of their Burnin' Up Tour. in 2008.\n The Veronicas supported Hanson along with Everybody Else on Hanson's 2008 Walk Around the World Tour.\n IN 2010, the Veronicas were to be supporting acts for Kelly Clarkson's \"All I Ever Wanted Fall Tour,\" but dropped out being replaced by Eric Hutchinson.\n The Veronicas were supporting 5 Seconds of Summer on the USA leg of their Rock Out with Your Socks Out Tour in late 2014.\n\nNon-affiliated tours\n Pre toured their third album in the period 2010-2012\n Did an acoustic tour in America in 2015 with a radio company\n Pride tour 2019 to LA, Chicago and New York 2019\n\nReferences\n\nThe Veronicas\nVeronicas",
"American singer-actress Cher has embarked on seven concert tours and three concert residencies. As a solo artist, Cher has made concerts in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Cher's first ever concert was with her ex-husband Sonny Bono in 1966 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.\n\nIn 1979, Cher started her first solo concert tour, the Cher in Concert Tour, with performances in Europa and North America in 1979. After the success with disco music, Cher and her boyfriend at the time, Les Dudek, formed the new wave band Black Rose with which she did her first mini-tour, The Black Rose Show. Black Rose band during their tour were the opening act for Bob Seger in Europe and for Hall & Oates during the 1980 summer in North America.\n\nAfter eight years off the road, Cher did her second solo sold-out tour in 1990, the Heart of Stone Tour, which was followed up by 1992's Love Hurts Tour. The Love Hurts Tour is well known by fans for cancellations due to Cher's illness.\n\nAfter the huge success of the Believe album, she did her 1999/2000 Do You Believe? tour.\nFinally, in 2002, she embarked on her so far last concert tour, the marathon Living Proof: The Farewell Tour, which lasted from June 2002 until April 2005. The tour featured a total 325 shows, the most ever for a concert tour by a female solo artist, and grossed more than $250 million, becoming Cher's highest-grossing tour ever. Cher closed the farewell tour in April 2005 at the Hollywood Bowl. It was the most successful tour by a single female solo artist at that time.\n\nFrom May 2008 until February 2011, Cher performed at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada with her new show, Cher at the Colosseum. She signed for 200 shows over the span of three years. She was paid $60 million for her return.\n\nAfter her residency at the Caesars Palace which lasted from 2008-2011, Cher began touring with the Dressed to Kill Tour in 2014 after the release of her album Closer to the Truth. Cher is one of the most successful touring artists, she was placed at number three among most successful female artists and at number twenty three overall on Billboard Top Live Artists From 1990-2014 list.\n\nConcert tours\n\nConcert residencies\n\nReferences\n\n \nCher\n\nhu:Cher filmjei"
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[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009"
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C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
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What happened in 2006?
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What happened in 2006?
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Beccy Cole
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During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
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Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel
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Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| true |
[
"Don Juan Manuel's Tales of Count Lucanor, in Spanish Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio (Book of the Examples of Count Lucanor and of Patronio), also commonly known as El Conde Lucanor, Libro de Patronio, or Libro de los ejemplos (original Old Castilian: Libro de los enxiemplos del Conde Lucanor et de Patronio), is one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish. It was first written in 1335.\n\nThe book is divided into four parts. The first and most well-known part is a series of 51 short stories (some no more than a page or two) drawn from various sources, such as Aesop and other classical writers, and Arabic folktales.\n\nTales of Count Lucanor was first printed in 1575 when it was published at Seville under the auspices of Argote de Molina. It was again printed at Madrid in 1642, after which it lay forgotten for nearly two centuries.\n\nPurpose and structure\n\nA didactic, moralistic purpose, which would color so much of the Spanish literature to follow (see Novela picaresca), is the mark of this book. Count Lucanor engages in conversation with his advisor Patronio, putting to him a problem (\"Some man has made me a proposition...\" or \"I fear that such and such person intends to...\") and asking for advice. Patronio responds always with the greatest humility, claiming not to wish to offer advice to so illustrious a person as the Count, but offering to tell him a story of which the Count's problem reminds him. (Thus, the stories are \"examples\" [ejemplos] of wise action.) At the end he advises the Count to do as the protagonist of his story did.\n\nEach chapter ends in more or less the same way, with slight variations on: \"And this pleased the Count greatly and he did just so, and found it well. And Don Johán (Juan) saw that this example was very good, and had it written in this book, and composed the following verses.\" A rhymed couplet closes, giving the moral of the story.\n\nOrigin of stories and influence on later literature\nMany of the stories written in the book are the first examples written in a modern European language of various stories, which many other writers would use in the proceeding centuries. Many of the stories he included were themselves derived from other stories, coming from western and Arab sources.\n\nShakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has the basic elements of Tale 35, \"What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\".\n\nTale 32, \"What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth\" tells the story that Hans Christian Andersen made popular as The Emperor's New Clothes.\n\nStory 7, \"What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana\", a version of Aesop's The Milkmaid and Her Pail, was claimed by Max Müller to originate in the Hindu cycle Panchatantra.\n\nTale 2, \"What happened to a good Man and his Son, leading a beast to market,\" is the familiar fable The miller, his son and the donkey.\n\nIn 2016, Baroque Decay released a game under the name \"The Count Lucanor\". As well as some protagonists' names, certain events from the books inspired past events in the game.\n\nThe stories\n\nThe book opens with a prologue which introduces the characters of the Count and Patronio. The titles in the following list are those given in Keller and Keating's 1977 translation into English. James York's 1868 translation into English gives a significantly different ordering of the stories and omits the fifty-first.\n\n What Happened to a King and His Favorite \n What Happened to a Good Man and His Son \n How King Richard of England Leapt into the Sea against the Moors\n What a Genoese Said to His Soul When He Was about to Die \n What Happened to a Fox and a Crow Who Had a Piece of Cheese in His Beak\n How the Swallow Warned the Other Birds When She Saw Flax Being Sown \n What Happened to a Woman Named Truhana \n What Happened to a Man Whose Liver Had to Be Washed \n What Happened to Two Horses Which Were Thrown to the Lion \n What Happened to a Man Who on Account of Poverty and Lack of Other Food Was Eating Bitter Lentils \n What Happened to a Dean of Santiago de Compostela and Don Yllán, the Grand Master of Toledo\n What Happened to the Fox and the Rooster \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Hunting Partridges \n The Miracle of Saint Dominick When He Preached against the Usurer \n What Happened to Lorenzo Suárez at the Siege of Seville \n The Reply that count Fernán González Gave to His Relative Núño Laynes \n What Happened to a Very Hungry Man Who Was Half-heartedly Invited to Dinner \n What Happened to Pero Meléndez de Valdés When He Broke His Leg \n What Happened to the Crows and the Owls \n What Happened to a King for Whom a Man Promised to Perform Alchemy \n What Happened to a Young King and a Philosopher to Whom his Father Commended Him \n What Happened to the Lion and the Bull \n How the Ants Provide for Themselves \n What Happened to the King Who Wanted to Test His Three Sons \n What Happened to the Count of Provence and How He Was Freed from Prison by the Advice of Saladin\n What Happened to the Tree of Lies \n What Happened to an Emperor and to Don Alvarfáñez Minaya and Their Wives \n What Happened in Granada to Don Lorenzo Suárez Gallinato When He Beheaded the Renegade Chaplain \n What Happened to a Fox Who Lay down in the Street to Play Dead \n What Happened to King Abenabet of Seville and Ramayquía His Wife \n How a Cardinal Judged between the Canons of Paris and the Friars Minor \n What Happened to the King and the Tricksters Who Made Cloth \n What Happened to Don Juan Manuel's Saker Falcon and an Eagle and a Heron \n What Happened to a Blind Man Who Was Leading Another \n What Happened to a Young Man Who Married a Strong and Ill-tempered Woman\n What Happened to a Merchant When He Found His Son and His Wife Sleeping Together \n What Happened to Count Fernán González with His Men after He Had Won the Battle of Hacinas \n What Happened to a Man Who Was Loaded down with Precious Stones and Drowned in the River \n What Happened to a Man and a Swallow and a Sparrow \n Why the Seneschal of Carcassonne Lost His Soul \n What Happened to a King of Córdova Named Al-Haquem \n What Happened to a Woman of Sham Piety \n What Happened to Good and Evil and the Wise Man and the Madman \n What Happened to Don Pero Núñez the Loyal, to Don Ruy González de Zavallos, and to Don Gutier Roiz de Blaguiello with Don Rodrigo the Generous \n What Happened to a Man Who Became the Devil's Friend and Vassal \n What Happened to a Philosopher who by Accident Went down a Street Where Prostitutes Lived \n What Befell a Moor and His Sister Who Pretended That She Was Timid \n What Happened to a Man Who Tested His Friends \n What Happened to the Man Whom They Cast out Naked on an Island When They Took away from Him the Kingdom He Ruled \n What Happened to Saladin and a Lady, the Wife of a Knight Who Was His Vassal \n What Happened to a Christian King Who Was Very Powerful and Haughty\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nBibliography\n\n Sturm, Harlan\n\n Wacks, David\n\nExternal links\n\nThe Internet Archive provides free access to the 1868 translation by James York.\nJSTOR has the to the 1977 translation by Keller and Keating.\nSelections in English and Spanish (pedagogical edition) with introduction, notes, and bibliography in Open Iberia/América (open access teaching anthology)\n\n14th-century books\nSpanish literature\n1335 books",
"\"What Happened to Us\" is a song by Australian recording artist Jessica Mauboy, featuring English recording artist Jay Sean. It was written by Sean, Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim and Israel Cruz. \"What Happened to Us\" was leaked online in October 2010, and was released on 10 March 2011, as the third single from Mauboy's second studio album, Get 'Em Girls (2010). The song received positive reviews from critics.\n\nA remix of \"What Happened to Us\" made by production team OFM, was released on 11 April 2011. A different version of the song which features Stan Walker, was released on 29 May 2011. \"What Happened to Us\" charted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number 14 and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). An accompanying music video was directed by Mark Alston, and reminisces on a former relationship between Mauboy and Sean.\n\nProduction and release\n\n\"What Happened to Us\" was written by Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz and Jay Sean. It was produced by Skaller, Cruz, Rohaim and Bobby Bass. The song uses C, D, and B minor chords in the chorus. \"What Happened to Us\" was sent to contemporary hit radio in Australia on 14 February 2011. The cover art for the song was revealed on 22 February on Mauboy's official Facebook page. A CD release was available for purchase via her official website on 10 March, for one week only. It was released digitally the following day.\n\nReception\nMajhid Heath from ABC Online Indigenous called the song a \"Jordin Sparks-esque duet\", and wrote that it \"has a nice innocence to it that rings true to the experience of losing a first love.\" Chris Urankar from Nine to Five wrote that it as a \"mid-tempo duet ballad\" which signifies Mauboy's strength as a global player. On 21 March 2011, \"What Happened to Us\" debuted at number 30 on the ARIA Singles Chart, and peaked at number 14 the following week. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling 70,000 copies. \"What Happened to Us\" spent a total of ten weeks in the ARIA top fifty.\n\nMusic video\n\nBackground\nThe music video for the song was shot in the Elizabeth Bay House in Sydney on 26 November 2010. The video was shot during Sean's visit to Australia for the Summerbeatz tour. During an interview with The Daily Telegraph while on the set of the video, Sean said \"the song is sick! ... Jessica's voice is amazing and we're shooting [the video] in this ridiculously beautiful mansion overlooking the harbour.\" The video was directed by Mark Alston, who had previously directed the video for Mauboy's single \"Let Me Be Me\" (2009). It premiered on YouTube on 10 February 2011.\n\nSynopsis and reception\nThe video begins showing Mauboy who appears to be sitting on a yellow antique couch in a mansion, wearing a purple dress. As the video progresses, scenes of memories are displayed of Mauboy and her love interest, played by Sean, spending time there previously. It then cuts to the scenes where Sean appears in the main entrance room of the mansion. The final scene shows Mauboy outdoors in a gold dress, surrounded by green grass and trees. She is later joined by Sean who appears in a black suit and a white shirt, and together they sing the chorus of the song to each other. David Lim of Feed Limmy wrote that the video is \"easily the best thing our R&B princess has committed to film – ever\" and praised the \"mansion and wondrous interior décor\". He also commended Mauboy for choosing Australian talent to direct the video instead of American directors, which she had used for her previous two music videos. Since its release, the video has received over two million views on Vevo.\n\nLive performances\nMauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" live for the first time during her YouTube Live Sessions program on 4 December 2010. She also appeared on Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight on 23 February 2011 for an interview and later performed the song. On 15 March 2011, Mauboy performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Sunrise. She also performed the song with Stan Walker during the Australian leg of Chris Brown's F.A.M.E. Tour in April 2011. Mauboy and Walker later performed \"What Happened to Us\" on Dancing with the Stars Australia on 29 May 2011. From November 2013 to February 2014, \"What Happened to Us\" was part of the set list of the To the End of the Earth Tour, Mauboy's second headlining tour of Australia, with Nathaniel Willemse singing Sean's part.\n\nTrack listing\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Just Witness Remix) – 3:45\n\nCD single\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Album Version) – 3:19\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (Sgt Slick Remix) – 6:33\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:39\n\nDigital download – Remix\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Jay Sean (OFM Remix) – 3:38\n\nDigital download\n \"What Happened to Us\" featuring Stan Walker – 3:20\n\nPersonnel\nSongwriting – Josh Alexander, Billy Steinberg, Jeremy Skaller, Rob Larow, Khaled Rohaim, Israel Cruz, Jay Sean\nProduction – Jeremy Skaller, Bobby Bass\nAdditional production – Israel Cruz, Khaled Rohaim\nLead vocals – Jessica Mauboy, Jay Sean\nMixing – Phil Tan\nAdditional mixing – Damien Lewis\nMastering – Tom Coyne \nSource:\n\nCharts\n\nWeekly chart\n\nYear-end chart\n\nCertification\n\nRadio dates and release history\n\nReferences\n\n2010 songs\n2011 singles\nJessica Mauboy songs\nJay Sean songs\nSongs written by Billy Steinberg\nSongs written by Jay Sean\nSongs written by Josh Alexander\nSongs written by Israel Cruz\nVocal duets\nSony Music Australia singles\nSongs written by Khaled Rohaim"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel"
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
What was Poster Girl?
| 2 |
What was Poster Girl?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War.
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| false |
[
"\"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" is a song written and recorded by Australian country music singer, Beccy Cole. It was taken from her album, Feel This Free (2005).\n\nAt the 35th annual Country Music Awards of Australia in January 2007, the song won three Golden Guitars for 'Song of the Year','Female Artist of the Year' and 'Single of the Year'.\n\nCole performed \"Poster Girl\" at the MCG on ANZAC day in 2007 in front of a crowd of 100,000.\n\nBackground and release\nBetween December 2005 and January 2006, Cole travelled to Iraq and The Middle East to do a series of concerts for Australian Defence Force. Upon her return, she received a letter from a fan objecting to her Tour de Force appearances, mistakenly thinking her singing overseas to Aussie troops amounted to her supporting the war. Cole said the criticism stung, \"To be accused of supporting some sort of ridiculous war on terror – which was not what I was doing at all – hurt.\" Cole explained; \"I was incredibly inspired by the whole experience of going over to the Middle East to entertain the Aussie troops, but also getting to know them and understanding what they're all about. I was like a proud mother hen over there, so I really did want to come back and sing their praises. I wanted to write a song, but I didn't know what angle. That's when I received the criticism.\" Cole continued saying \"You can support the troops without supporting the war. You can recognise that they do an amazing job, that they put their lives on the line and put themselves in danger because we need a Defence Force. Wonderful, wonderful people.\"\n\nIn October 2006, the song went viral after there was a short passage about the song in Defence Direct and was picked up by Melbourne blogger, Andrew Llanderyou, which was the\nsource of Andrew Bolt's Herald Sun article which in turn was the source for American blogs like Blackfive and even the Toronto Sun.\n\nCharts\n\"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" reached number one spot on the Country Tracks Top 30 singles chart.\n\nReferences\n\n2005 songs\n2006 songs\nSongs about Australia\nAnti-war songs\nUniversal Music Australia singles",
"The Beggarstaffs, otherwise J. & W. Beggarstaff, was the pseudonym used by the British artists William Nicholson and James Pryde for their collaborative partnership in the design of posters and other graphic work between 1894 and 1899. They are sometimes referred to as the Beggarstaff Brothers, but did not use this name.\n\nThe partnership\n\nWilliam Nicholson met his future wife Mabel \"Prydie\" Pryde in 1888 or 1889 at Hubert Herkomer's art school at Bushey, Herts, where both were students. He met her elder brother James, who was also an artist, at about the same time. In 1893, Nicholson and Prydie eloped and were secretly married at Ruislip on 25 April. They went to live in what had been a pub, the Eight Bells at Denham, Bucks. James Pryde soon visited them, and stayed for almost two years. Other visitors to the house included the actor Edward Gordon Craig and his wife May, who had also recently eloped and were living in a cottage in Uxbridge rented from Craig's mother, the famous actress Ellen Terry. In the summer of 1894 Craig was preparing to go on tour with the Shakespearean Company of W.S. Hardy, for whom he was to play, among other rôles, that of Hamlet. The part was an important one for him, and he asked Pryde and Nicholson to design and produce a poster to publicise the production. It was their first collaboration.\n\nThe initial design was made partly by collage, the hair and clothing of Craig as Hamlet cut from plain black paper; the life-sized figure in the printed version used to publicise the play was stencilled on brown wrapping-paper by Nicholson, with some details added by hand. The original design is untraced; however, it was reproduced in four publications: in the Magazine of Art of January 1895, on page 117; in La Plume of 1 October 1895, on page 427; in Pictorial Posters by Charles Hiatt, published 1895, on page 239; and in The Poster of February 1899, on page 50. No copy of the theatrical poster used to publicise the play is known to survive, but its appearance is known from its publication in Pan in February 1896, on page 333; it has \"W.S. Hardy's Company\" lettered across the top and is unsigned. Another version of the poster, signed but without the \"Hardy's\" lettering, may have been produced for sale to collectors. An example is in the Museum of Modern Art of New York City; this version was printed in facsimile in 1898 in Paris by the Imprimerie Chaix as plate 107 of Les Maîtres de l'Affiche.\n\nThe last version of the Hamlet poster is signed, by hand, \"J. W. Beggarstaff Denham Uxbridge\". According to Nicholson, the Beggarstaff pseudonym was chosen after \"Pryde and I came across it one day in an old stable, on a sack of fodder\"; Pryde gave a similar, though slightly different, explanation.\n\nAt about the same time, the Beggarstaffs designed and printed a poster showing Craig in another of his leading rôles on the same tour with Hardy's company, that of Charles Surface in Sheridan's School for Scandal. It also was probably stencilled on brown paper. It does not survive in any form; Craig described it as \"absolutely splendid\".\n\nThe Hamlet poster was shown at the International Artistic Pictorial Poster Exhibition at the Royal Aquarium in Westminster in November 1894.\n\nWorks\nThe works that the Beggarstaffs are known to have made are, according to Campbell:\nHamlet, poster for W.S. Hardy Shakespeare Co., 1894.\nThe School for Scandal, poster for W.S. Hardy Shakespeare Co., 1894. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nBecket, poster design for Henry Irving as Becket, Lyceum Theatre, c. 1894.\nNobody’s Washing Blue, poster design, 1894. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nNobody’s Candles, poster design, 1894. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nNobody’s Niggers, poster design, 1894. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nNobody’s Pianos, poster design, 1894. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nKassama Corn Flour, poster for a Glasgow firm, 1894.\nChildren Playing, decorative screen, 1895.\nChinaman, poster design, 1895. \nThe Hour Illustrated, contents bill for The Hour Illustrated magazine, 1895.\nGirl Reading, poster design for Macmillan Publishers, 1895. Untraced.\nDon Quixote, poster design for Henry Irving, 1895.\nRoundhead, poster design, 1895. Untraced.\nHarper’s Magazine, poster for Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1895.\nCoachman, poster design, 1895. Untraced.\nCinderella, poster for the Artistic Supply Company, 1895.\nQueen Victoria, poster design, 1895. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nGirl and Screen, poster design, 1896. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nMan and Map, poster design, 1896. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nRowntree’s Elect Cocoa, poster for H.I. Rowntree & Co., 1896.\nThe Quiver, poster design for The Quiver poster competition, 1897. Lost, untraced, appearance unknown.\nThe Goat, painted signboard for a pub, 1896/7. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nThe Black and White Gallery, painted signboard for Louis Meyer, 1897 or later. Untraced, appearance unknown.\nGirl on Horseback, oil painting, 1898. Untraced, appearance unknown.\n Cover design and 10 illustrations for Tony Drum: A Cockney Boy by Edwin Pugh, 1898.\nRobespierre, poster design for Henry Irving, 1899. Unpublished.\nThe Coach and Horses, painted signboard, 1900 or later.\n\nThe Beggarstaffs were known for their new technique, collage, using cut pieces of paper moved around on a board leaving a figure incomplete for the viewer to decipher. This is shown in the poster for Kassama Corn Flour where only black and yellow is used. They completely ignored the floral trend of art nouveau, which made their work although an artistic success, a financial disaster. One of the posters they lost money on was their most famous poster, Don Quixote, made for Sir Henry Irving's production at the Lyceum Theatre. It was never printed because the client decided, “it had a bad likeness.” Incidents like these caused the partnership to split and left each artist to work on their own.\n\nAn auction record for a work by the Beggarstaffs was set on 10 May 2004 when A Trip to Chinatown was sold for $43,700.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nBeggarstaffs: The art of the Beggarstaff Brothers Online catalogue raisonné of the Beggarstaff poster designs.\n\nArt duos\n19th-century British painters\nBritish male painters\nBritish poster artists\n19th-century male artists"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel",
"What was Poster Girl?",
"\". In May 2006 she issued a single, \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War."
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
Was the single a success?
| 3 |
Was the single "Poster Girl" a success?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)".
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| true |
[
"Sweet, Soft N' Lazy (The Exclusive Collection) is the first compilation album by French-Belgian singer Viktor Lazlo.\n\nThe album was released following the success of Lazlo's German-French duet single Das erste Mal tat's noch weh with Stefan Waggershausen in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The single peaked at No. 6 on the German single charts and was a massive success. The single Ansiedad was another success for Lazlo, charting in Germany and Belgium. It was also part of the official soundtrack for Lazlo's movie Boom Boom, a Spanish romantic comedy.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nAlbum\n\nSingle releases\n\nReferences\n\n1990 albums\nViktor Lazlo albums\nPolydor Records albums",
"Collaborations 2 is the tenth studio album by Punjabi singer Sukshinder Shinda, released on 26 February 2009 worldwide making his second collaborated album. The album was also released internationally to USA, Canada, and U.K.\n\nThe album was preceded by the lead single, Ghum Shum Ghum Shum which featured Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The song was also Shinda's first with Rahat. Following the success of his first single, Yarrian Banai Rakhi Yaarian featuring Jazzy B, was released which was another success. Despite success with two singles from the album, the album received positive reviews.\n\nTrack listing\n\nReferences\n\n2009 albums"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel",
"What was Poster Girl?",
"\". In May 2006 she issued a single, \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War.",
"Was the single a success?",
"Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\"."
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
What was Songbirds?
| 4 |
What was Songbirds?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds.
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| true |
[
"Songbirds (sometimes known as \"Songbirds of Country\") was an Australian country music girl group, formed in 2007 by platinum selling, ARIA Award nominated, and 24 time Golden Guitar winning artists and good friends Beccy Cole, Gina Jeffreys and Sara Storer.\nThe group released a live DVD in 2009, which peaked at number 5 on the ARIA Top 40 Music DVD chart. The DVD was certified gold.\n\nHistory\nThe friendship of Cole and Jeffreys dates back to the 1990s they were bridesmaids for each other. Cole said (of Gina) \"We’ll be friends forever; we know too much. Performing with one of your best friends is such a special feeling.\"\n\nCole, Jeffreys and Storer have appeared in each other's live shows and on recordings throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Songbirds is the brainchild of the girls themselves, where they can share the stage and sing some of their favourite songs.\n\nSongbirds was announced in early 2007 initially as a four-show tour in NSW, however it sold out and additional dates added and the trio began touring nationally from July 2007. with a backing band of Albeck on fiddle; Duncan Toombs and James Gillard on acoustic guitars and backing vocals; Mal Lancaster on drums; and Ian Lees on bass guitar.\n\nBrett Casben of Australian Stage Online compared the three lead vocalists: \"Storer is possibly the most visibly disparate of the group bringing to her work a touching lyrical earthiness that reflects a ‘mallee’ heritage ... Cole is the power house of the production and her personal interpretation of the Storer work, 'Buffalo Bill' was a show stopper ... Jeffreys performs in a more reflective style\". Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the \"friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence\" where each \"performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity\".\n\nThe trio toured to sell out crowds throughout 2007 and 2008. In January 2009, Songbirds recorded a live DVD of their performance. On 29 April 2009 the film premiered in Australian cinemas and was released commercially in May. The DVD peaked at number 5 on the ARIA Top 40 Music DVD chart in its third week charting and was certified gold. By the end of 2009, the trio had returned to their respective solo careers.\n\nIn October 2011, Songbirds were the feature act on a 7-day South Pacific Island cruise.\n\nDiscography\n\nDVD\n\nSingles\n \"You've Got a Friend\" (May 2009)\n\nLegacy\nIn 2015 Australian female country singers Amber Lawrence, Aleyce Simmonds and Christie Lamb completed a combined tour called \"The Girls Of Country Tour\". The idea referring to the former sellout show of Songbirds.\n\nReferences\n\nAustralian girl groups\nMusical groups established in 2007\nMusical groups disestablished in 2009",
"Silence of the Songbirds () is a book by bird lover and scientist Bridget Stutchbury about the rapid decline and loss of many species of songbirds. Some major threats covered include pesticides, sun-grown coffee, city lights, cowbirds, and global warming. The book was published by HarperCollins in 2007, and has 243 pages.\n\nKirkus Reviews published a review of the book on June 1, 2007, and compared it to Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Stutchbury describes the link between Latin American deforestation and the loss of food for migratory birds, and the impact of large amounts of pesticides. However, deforestation is minimal for shade-grown coffee. She mentions additional threats to songbirds: light pollution, tall buildings, and wind farms. Despite the diminishing populations of songbirds in recent decades, she provides advice for their survival.\n\nMedia\n\nCanadian Broadcasting Corporation \n\nCBC Radio, Quirks and Quarks, April 14, 2007 (fourth topic) (archived by the Wayback Machine)\nCBC.ca - Words at Large - Author Exclusives - Excerpt: Silence of the Songbirds, by Bridget Stutchbury\n\nPrint media \n\n Tweet, tweet, you're dead, The Globe and Mail newspaper (archived by the Wayback Machine)\n\nExternal links \nThe Silence of the Songbirds - Bridget Stutchbury (archived by the Wayback Machine)\nSILENCE OF THE SONGBIRDS by Bridget Stutchbury | Kirkus\n\n2007 non-fiction books\n2007 in the environment\nBird conservation\nEnvironmental non-fiction books\nHarperCollins books\nSongbirds"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel",
"What was Poster Girl?",
"\". In May 2006 she issued a single, \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War.",
"Was the single a success?",
"Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\".",
"What was Songbirds?",
"In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds."
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
Did the band see any success?
| 5 |
Did Songbirds see any success?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| false |
[
"Comeback is the fourth and final studio album by German all-female pop-rap band Tic Tac Toe, released in 2006 by A One Entertainment. The album was their first in nearly a decade recorded in the original line-up, after Ricarda \"Ricky\" Wältken had re-joined the band.\n\nThe album was preceded by the single \"Spiegel\" in 2005 which became a top 10 hit in German-speaking countries. However, the second and final single, \"Keine Ahnung\", was a commercial failure and did not enter any charts. The album itself was a moderate top 40 chart success.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nReferences \n\n2006 albums\nGerman-language albums\nTic Tac Toe (band) albums",
"Goombay Dance Band is a German band created in 1979 by Oliver Bendt, named after a small bay on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Their music has a distinctive sound (somewhat similar to Boney M.), which is a mixture of soca, calypso and western pop. The group enjoyed greatest commercial success at the beginning of the 1980s, spawning such number 1 hits as \"Sun of Jamaica\", \"Seven Tears\" and \"Aloha-Oe, Until We Meet Again\". Goombay Dance Band built up a fan base across Europe and proved very popular in South Africa too, where \"Sun of Jamaica\" and \"Aloha-Oe\" entered the charts.\n\nHistory\nThe band released the song \"Sun of Jamaica\" at the end of 1979. It topped the German single charts for nine weeks in 1980 and has sold 11 million copies. Their next single was \"Aloha-Oe, Until We Meet Again\", based on a Liliuokalani's composition \"Aloha ʻOe\". The song charted within the top 5 in European charts, including the number 1 spot in Austria. The group's debut album Zauber der Karibik, internationally known as Sun of Jamaica, was met with commercial success, reaching the top 5 in several countries. The second album, Land of Gold, performed much worse, only charting outside the German top 40, but spawned hits \"Eldorado\" and \"Rain\".\n\nIn 1981, the band released the album Holiday in Paradise, which featured the song \"Seven Tears\". When released in the UK next year, \"Seven Tears\" became the band's breakthrough hit on the British market, where it topped the singles chart for three weeks and was also a million-seller. This success was followed by the release of the compilation Seven Tears, which was well received in the UK, while in mainland Europe, the band released the retrospective Tropical Dreams to a modest success.\n\nHowever, the group's subsequent releases did not draw as much attention. The next studio album, Born to Win, failed to chart and did not produce any impactful hits. In 1984 and 1985, Goombay Dance Band released several non-album singles, which were commercial failures. In the 1990s, the band released several albums, including the Christmas Album and the compilation Island of Dreams, which was met with moderate chart success and featured a new version of \"Sun of Jamaica\". The band celebrated their 30th anniversary with a collection of new songs and re-recorded hits in 2009. The following year, they recorded \"Is This the Way to the World Cup\" to celebrate the 2010 FIFA World Cup.\n\nBand members\nOliver Bendt\nAlicia Bendt\nDorothy Hellings\nWendy Doorsen\nDizzy Daniel Moorehead\nMario Slijngaard\n\nDiscography\n\nStudio albums\n\n A^ In German speaking countries, the album Sun of Jamaica was released as Zauber der Karibik, and in Spain, as Sol de Jamaica.\n B^ Von Hawaii bis Tomé was re-released as Sommer, Sonne, Strand and Montego Bay in 1993.\n C^ Christmas Album was re-released as Christmas by the Sea in 1997.\n\nCompilations\n\nSingles\n\nSee also\n Goombay – a form of Bahamian music and a drum used to create it\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\n \n \n\nEurodisco groups\nGerman dance music groups\nGerman world music groups\nMusical groups established in 1979\nMusicians from Hamburg\nCBS Records artists"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel",
"What was Poster Girl?",
"\". In May 2006 she issued a single, \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War.",
"Was the single a success?",
"Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\".",
"What was Songbirds?",
"In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds.",
"Did the band see any success?",
"A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May"
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
Where was the DVD released?
| 6 |
Where was the DVD released of "You've Got a Friend"?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
CANNOTANSWER
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| false |
[
"Live in Hamburg is a live album by German techno group Scooter. The album was released on May 7, 2010, and is accompanied by Blu-ray and DVD releases.\n\nHistory\nThe album was recorded at the \"biggest Scooter concert ever\" at the Color Line Arena, in Hamburg, Germany. This was during the Under The Radar Over The Top Tour, where Scooter were promoting their 2009 studio album Under the Radar Over the Top.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCD Release\n\nWeb Release\n\nDVD and Blu-ray\n\nA DVD was released along with a special edition Blu-ray, each containing the accompanying live footage to each track on the online release. The Blu-ray contains every Scooter music video to date as well.\n\nRelease history\n\nReception and chart performance\nWhen the CD/DVD/Blu-ray was announced, many pre-ordered it from Amazon.de. The pre-orders were very high, and the CD was expected to chart well since it stayed at number one in the Live Albums category on Amazon.\n\nUpon release, the CD entered the official German album chart at fourteen, whilst the DVD entered the German DVD Media Control Charts at number one.\n\nReception for the CD and DVD was generally good, though many criticized the lack of one of the more popular tracks that was played during the tour, \"Where The Beats...\", which was specifically re-edited for the tour. No official statement was made as to why this track was omitted, nor why it was the only one excluded, but many fans suspected that it was because the modified version utilized a chorus very similar to the U2 song \"Where the Streets Have No Name\".\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nScooter Official Site\n\nScooter (band) albums\nAlbums recorded at Color Line Arena\n2010 live albums\n2010 video albums",
"Movies 3 (stylized as MOVIES3) is the third compilation DVD released by the hip-hop group Lead. It charted at #40 on the Oricon charts, where it remained for two weeks. Unlike their first two compilation films, Movies 3 contained every music video since their debut with \"Manatsu no Magic\" (2002) to their most recent video \"Sunnyday\" (2008).\n\nIt became their first compilation release to not have a VHS counterpart, only being released on DVD.\n\nInformation\nMovies 3 is the third compilation DVD by the Japanese hip-hop group Lead, released on August 6, 2008 under the Pony Canyon sub-label Flight Master. The DVD reached #40 on the Oricon DVD charts, staying on the charts for two consecutive weeks. It was their first compilation to not be released as both a DVD and VHS, only carrying a DVD release. This was due to the decline of the VHS market as the optical disc, namely the DVD, began taking on popularity.\n\nThe DVD housed every music video the group had released from their debut song \"Manatsu no Magic\" (2002), to their then-most recent video \"Sunnyday\" (2008). Their next compilation DVD, Movies 4, would not be released until eight years later in May 2015.\n\nThe cover art was shot in the same location as their music video for \"Sunnyday\", which was primarily filmed in an empty swimming pool. The group even donned the outfits worn in the shoot.\n\nTrack listing\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nLead Official Site\n\n2008 video albums\nLead (band) video albums\nMusic video compilation albums"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel",
"What was Poster Girl?",
"\". In May 2006 she issued a single, \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War.",
"Was the single a success?",
"Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\".",
"What was Songbirds?",
"In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds.",
"Did the band see any success?",
"A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May",
"Where was the DVD released?",
"I don't know."
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
What else was significant about the DVD?
| 7 |
What else was significant about the DVD other than being recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
The DVD went gold in 2009.
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| true |
[
"\"What Else Is There?\" is the third single from the Norwegian duo Röyksopp's second album The Understanding. It features the vocals of Karin Dreijer from the Swedish electronica duo The Knife. The album was released in the UK with the help of Astralwerks.\n\nThe single was used in an O2 television advertisement in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia during 2008. It was also used in the 2006 film Cashback and the 2007 film, Meet Bill. Trentemøller's remix of \"What Else is There?\" was featured in an episode of the HBO show Entourage.\n\nThe song was covered by extreme metal band Enslaved as a bonus track for their album E.\n\nThe song was listed as the 375th best song of the 2000s by Pitchfork Media.\n\nOfficial versions\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Album Version) – 5:17\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Radio Edit) – 3:38\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Jacques Lu Cont Radio Mix) – 3:46\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Vocal Version) – 8:03\n\"What Else Is There?\" (The Emperor Machine Dub Version) – 7:51\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Mix) – 8:25\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Edit) – 4:50\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Thin White Duke Remix) (Radio Edit) – 3:06\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Trentemøller Remix) – 7:42\n\"What Else Is There?\" (Vitalic Remix) – 5:14\n\nResponse\nThe single was officially released on 5 December 2005 in the UK. The single had a limited release on 21 November 2005 to promote the upcoming album. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 32, while on the UK Dance Chart, it reached number one.\n\nMusic video\nThe music video was directed by Martin de Thurah. It features Norwegian model Marianne Schröder who is shown lip-syncing Dreijer's voice. Schröder is depicted as a floating woman traveling across stormy landscapes and within empty houses. Dreijer makes a cameo appearance as a woman wearing an Elizabethan ruff while dining alone at a festive table.\n\nMovie spots\n\nThe song is also featured in the movie Meet Bill as characters played by Jessica Alba and Aaron Eckhart smoke marijuana while listening to it. It is also part of the end credits music of the film Cashback.\n\nCharts\n\nReferences\n\n2005 singles\nRöyksopp songs\nAstralwerks singles\nSongs written by Svein Berge\nSongs written by Torbjørn Brundtland\n2004 songs\nSongs written by Roger Greenaway\nSongs written by Olof Dreijer\nSongs written by Karin Dreijer",
"So, What's Your Price? () is a 2007 documentary directed by Olallo Rubio about media, power, and the consumer culture in Mexico and United States. It debuted in Mexico on May 18, 2007, and had several screenings on the United States, the DVD version was released on October 16, 2007.\n\nProduction\nOriginally, the idea was that Olallo Rubio direct a documentary, so it could be sold as a straight to DVD film, while the money earned would go to the finance of This Is Not A Movie, another project of Olallo. Eventually, the project got bigger and it was called So, What's Your Price, using the budget of $100,000. The film was shot in the streets of New York and Mexico City. The film was first screened at a film festival in Guadalajara. In April 2007, it was announced that the film was going to be released May 18, 2007 in Mexico City. The film enjoyed positive reviews, so it was released in different places in Mexico. In July 2007, it was screened in New York with very positive reviews, and in October 2007 it was released on DVD.\n\nPlot\nThe film is about the differences between the United States and Mexico, with different opinions by people on the street, or sellers. It talks about drugs, money, the human body, the price of living, and how people see each other.\n\nRelease\nOn October 16, 2007 the DVD was released in a 2-disc special edition, with several extras, which included, two audio commentaries by the director, one in Spanish and one in English, the making of documentary called A Film For Sale, a podcast that includes fragments of interviews on the radio with the director, an interview with Stephen A. Bezruchka, the trailers, and a photo gallery.\n\nExternal links\n \n\nDocumentary films about consumerism\nMexican documentary films\n2007 films\n2007 documentary films\n2000s English-language films\n2000s Spanish-language films\nMexican films"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel",
"What was Poster Girl?",
"\". In May 2006 she issued a single, \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War.",
"Was the single a success?",
"Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\".",
"What was Songbirds?",
"In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds.",
"Did the band see any success?",
"A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May",
"Where was the DVD released?",
"I don't know.",
"What else was significant about the DVD?",
"The DVD went gold in 2009."
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
How did Songbirds do in 2009?
| 8 |
How did Songbirds do in 2009?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
The DVD went gold in 2009.
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| Song of the Year
|
|-
| Single of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
| true |
[
"Stephanie Ann White is an American neuroscientist who is a Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research looks to understand how social interactions impact the brain. She serves as Director of the Neural Systems and Behavior programme at the Marine Biological Laboratory.\n\nEarly life and education \nWhite was an undergraduate student at Connecticut College, where she majored in biopsychology. She was a graduate student at Stanford University, where she studied neuroscience. Her research considered social control of the expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormones. She became interested in neuropathological approaches to study how socialising impacts the shape of the brain. She moved to Duke University as a postdoctoral scholar where she remained from 1997 until 2000.\n\nResearch and career \nWhite joined University of California, Los Angeles in 2000 and holds the William Scheibel Endowed Chair in Neuroscience.\n\nShe has used songbirds to better understand how the environment influences creativity and learning. During a critical developmental period, the songbirds develop a suitable song for courtship, primarily via trial and error. In particular, she considers the zebra finch, whose behavior and neural circuitry are sexually dimorphic.\n\nWhite has studied FOXP2, a gene related to speech, in the learning of both humans and songbirds. White has investigated the role of FOXP2 during birdsong as well as its prevalence in neural synapses. She has shown that disruption to the FOXP2 gene can cause difficulties in speech and birdsong. In zebra finches she identified that the FOXP1 gene is at elevated in parts of the brain associated with birdsong. White identified several genes associated with difficulties in human development in the basal ganglia of the zebra finch, and has since used songbirds as a model for human speech disorders. She has argued that this understanding will help to identify therapeutic candidates for communication-related conditions such as autism.\n\nSelected publications\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n \n\nYear of birth missing (living people)\nLiving people\n21st-century American scientists\nAmerican neuroscientists\nAmerican women neuroscientists\nConnecticut College alumni\nStanford University alumni\nUniversity of California, Los Angeles faculty\n21st-century American women",
"The Songbirds of Pain is a story collection by Garry Kilworth published in 1984.\n\nPlot summary\nThe Songbirds of Pain is a collection of 13 science fiction short stories.\n\nReception\nDave Langford reviewed The Songbirds of Pain for White Dwarf #60, and stated that \"Amid Kilworth's exotic settings, 'ordinary' and 'fantastic' aspects fuse in a blaze of style. Try it.\"\n\nReviews\nReview by Chris Morgan (1985) in Fantasy Review, January 1985\nReview by Nigel Richardson (1985) in Vector 124/125\n\nReferences\n\n1984 short story collections\nScience fiction short story collections\nVictor Gollancz Ltd books"
] |
[
"Beccy Cole",
"\"Poster Girl\" & Songbirds: 2006-2009",
"What happened in 2006?",
"Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and \"across the Middle East\" for Australian Defence Force \"personnel",
"What was Poster Girl?",
"\". In May 2006 she issued a single, \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War.",
"Was the single a success?",
"Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for \"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)\".",
"What was Songbirds?",
"In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds.",
"Did the band see any success?",
"A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May",
"Where was the DVD released?",
"I don't know.",
"What else was significant about the DVD?",
"The DVD went gold in 2009.",
"How did Songbirds do in 2009?",
"The DVD went gold in 2009."
] |
C_2b4ab30b5dc94b249168a70c55acd76b_0
|
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
| 9 |
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article other than Poster Girl and Songbirds?
|
Beccy Cole
|
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson, and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty". Upon return to Australia Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more". In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses". On 12 October 2007 Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a Behind the Scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film Songbirds: You've Got a Friend was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity". CANNOTANSWER
|
On 17 March 2007 Cole appeared on celebrity quiz show, RocKwiz, she performed "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
|
Beccy Cole (born Rebecca Diane Thompson, 27 October 1972), also known as Beccy Sturtzel, Rebecca Diane Albeck and Bec O'Donovan, is an Australian country music singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has released ten studio albums, with six reaching the ARIA Albums Chart top 40, Little Victories (January 2003), Preloved (September 2010), Songs & Pictures (September 2011), Great Women of Country (with Melinda Schneider, November 2014), Sweet Rebecca (April 2015) and The Great Country Songbook Volume 2 (with Adam Harvey, April 2017). Her video album, Just a Girl Singer (August 2004), peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. Cole has received nine Golden Guitar trophies at the CMAA Country Music Awards of Australia. During December 2005 to January 2006 she performed for Australian Defence Force personnel in Iraq. Her related single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (May 2016), expresses her support for the troops. It won the 2007 Song of the Year at CMAA awards, and its music video was listed at No. 1 on Australia's Country Music Channel. In March 2015 she published her autobiography, Poster Girl.
Life and career
Early life: 1972–92
Beccy Cole was born as Rebecca Diane Thompson on 27 October 1972 in Glenelg. Her mother is a country music singer, Carole Sturtzel, and her father, Jeff Thompson, was saxophonist for the Strangers. Cole attended Blackwood Primary School. At the age of 14 years she started performing in her mother's group, Wild Oats, as Beccy Sturtzel. She also performed solo on the South Australian festival circuit. Aside from her mother, Cole's inspirations are Dolly Parton and The Eagles. In 1991, Cole joined a country music group, Dead Ringer Band, led by Bill Chambers; she had met his daughter, Kasey Chambers, in Adelaide in mid-1989. Cole and Chambers performed as a duo at the Port Pirie Country Music Festival, and by 1991 they had busked together on the streets of Tamworth. As a member of Dead Ringer Band, Cole provided rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals and occasional drums.
Career beginnings and first album: 1993–2000
On the advice of her manager she changed her performance name to "Beccy Cole". In January 1993 at the Country Music Awards of Australia she won the Star Maker award, singing Reba McEntire's "Just a Little Love" and Slim Dusty's "Bushland Boogie". As a result of winning the Star Maker award, she had to perform at a special concert opening for Gina Jeffreys. This was the commencement of a lifelong friendship. Cole moved to Sydney in 1993 to pursue her music career and to record a single. She was advised by studio owners Deniese and Martin Cass that her self-penned tracks were not good enough, so she recorded "Fooling' Around", which was written by Perth songwriter Mark Donahoe. The single spent two weeks at number 2 on the country charts. At the 1994 Country Music Awards of Australia, Cole won the Golden Guitar trophy for Best New Talent. and signed her first record deal in 1994. Later that year, she spent four months touring remote Aboriginal communities in northern Australia. In 1995 Cole toured with Slim Dusty. Cole featured on the ABC-TV documentary Doesn't Everyone Want a Golden Guitar? and her song "Take Me Home the Long Way" appeared on the associated soundtrack album of the same name. Cole supplied backing vocals for an album, The Circle Game, by country music duo Rod McCormack and Mick Albeck; another guest vocalist was Gina Jeffreys.
In 1996, Cole signed a new record deal with Harvestone Records on the Sony label and began working on her debut album. The album was produced by Rod McCormack. Cole issued two singles, "Hearts Changing Hands" and "Rest in Pieces". The latter single's B-side, "Big Girls", was co-written with Chambers; it was promoted by a music video which featured Albeck as Cole's love interest. On 11 July 1997 her debut album, Beccy Cole, was released and peaked at number 122 on the ARIA Charts in November. The album generated lukewarm responses and Sony decided not to record a second album.
Cole married Mick Albeck late in 1997 and gave birth to a son on 2 March 1999. Cole and Albeck divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, Cole began touring with Darren Coggan, Felicity, and Adam Harvey as the 'Young Stars of Country'. In 2000 at the Gympie Music Muster the four artists recorded their live cover version of Dolly Parton's "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind".
Commercial success: 2001–05
Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, was issued on 15 January 2001 by ABC Country and distributed by Universal Music Australia, which peaked at No. 4 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It included contributions by Chambers and Jeffreys on vocals, and McCormack on guitars, keyboards, piano, Hammond organ, mandolin, banjo and backing vocals, as well as producing the album. Rosie Adsett at Country Update felt "[she's] never been in finer voice, and the enjoyment of finally recording just shines through this one". While The Sydney Morning Heralds Katrina Lobley noted that Cole "unashamedly examines every corner of a recently broken heart. The album's not entirely miserable – her sense of fun bursts out in wild ditties". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001 Wild at Heart was nominated for Best Country Album. By November 2002 it was re-issued with a five-track bonus disc, including her single, "Life Goes On". For her gigs she also performs on lead guitar, drums, bass guitar, fiddle or piano. In December 2003 Wild at Heart was accredited with a gold certificate for shipment of 35,000 copies.
On 20 January 2003, Cole released her third studio album, Little Victories, which reached the top 30 on the ARIA Albums Chart and No. 4 on the Country Albums Chart. It was again produced by McCormack, who also provided banjo, dobro, guitars (acoustic and electric), mandola, mandolin and percussion as well as mixing and engineering. On the End of Year Charts – Country 2003, the album reached No. 18. Cole co-wrote eight of its tracks with Tamara Stewart (aka Tamara Sloper). Capital News described the work as by "a more mature, more reflective and more confident" artist. At the ARIA Music Awards that year it was nominated for Best Country Album. In December 2005 it was accredited with a gold certificate.
On 2 August 2004, Cole issued a video album, Just a Girl Singer, which included interviews, live concert footage, music videos and archival footage. The album was written, produced and directed by Lindsay Frazer; which peaked at No. 6 on the ARIA Top 40 DVD Chart. It provided Cole's next single, "Sorry I Asked". In the following year, on 11 April, Cole released her next studio album, Feel This Free, which reached the ARIA Albums Chart Top 100 and No. 3 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. It includes Albeck on violin and fiddle; McCormack on multiple instruments and producing; and Jeffreys and McCormack co-writing tracks with Cole.
"Poster Girl" and Songbirds: 2006–09
During the festive season of December 2005 and January 2006, Cole joined the Tour de Force series of concerts in Iraq and "across the Middle East" for Australian Defence Force "personnel serving in Operation Catalyst". Also performing at the concerts were Little Pattie (patron of Forces Advisory Council on Entertainment, which organised the tour's entertainers), Angry Anderson, Bessie Bardot, Hayley Jenson and comedian Lehmo. They were backed by the Royal Australian Navy Band. Anderson later recalled that "[Cole] struck me from the beginning, I mean she's a born entertainer, and I thought, this chick is as funny as hell. The songs that she was singing, original tunes, and just funny and witty".
Upon her return to Australia, Cole received a letter from a disgruntled former fan who objected to her Tour de Force appearances and declared "I've taken your poster off of my wall and I won't be listening to your music any more." In May 2006 she issued a single, "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" in response, she declared her support for the Australian diggers but not the Iraq War. Also that month she re-released Feel This Free, with bonus tracks, on Warner Records. In January the following year, at the 35th Country Music Awards of Australia, she received three Golden Guitar trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)". On 17 March 2007, Cole appeared on celebrity music quiz show RocKwiz, performing "Rockabilly Fever" and a duet with Mark Lizotte on "A Good Year for the Roses".
On 12 October 2007, Cole issued her debut live album, Live @ Lizotte's, with guest appearances by Chambers, Jeffreys and Sara Storer. The deluxe version included a DVD of seven live performances and a behind the scenes documentary. In 2007, Cole, Jeffreys and Storer combined to form Songbirds. A live concert film, Songbirds: You've Got a Friend, was recorded at the Tamworth Country Music Festival on 22 January 2009 and the related DVD was released in May by EMI Music Australia. The DVD went gold in 2009. Susan Jarvis of Capital News noted that the "friendship between the three girls is very much in evidence" where each "performs some of their songs solo, but the three come and go in a wonderfully fluid and organic way, providing a feeling of warmth and spontaneity".
Continued success: 2010–present
On 3 September 2010 Cole issued a covers album, Preloved, on Sony BMG Australia which peaked in the top 40 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Included are her renditions of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", Deborah Conway's "It's Only the Beginning" and Leiber and Stoller's "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care". Cole's version of Parton's "Here You Come Again" was released as the lead single, she told Anita Beaumont of The Newcastle Herald that "[it] is the least covered song of Dolly's, and I believed the lyrics stand the test of time". Beaumont felt the album showed "quite a bit of country influence ... but some of these songs weren't originally intended for a country audience. They sound pretty rootsy".
Cole's sixth studio album, Songs & Pictures, appeared on 30 September 2011 and reached No. 24 on the ARIA Albums Chart – her highest position. It was produced by Shane Nicholson (Angie Hart, Catherine Britt). The album includes a duet with Chambers, "Millionaires", which they had co-written; Chambers later recalled "It's really the story of our friendship". At the ARIA Music Awards of 2012 Songs & Pictures was nominated for Best Country Album. In May 2013 Cole released her first compilation album, Beccy's Big Hits. She promoted the album with an Australian tour and invited aspiring artists to perform a song on stage, via the Beccy's Search for a Shiny Star competition. In 2014, Cole released Great Women of Country a duet album with Melinda Schneider was released, a tribute and covers album of Beccy's idols and legendary female country singers and songwriters. She and Schneider performed one of the tracks, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5", on The Morning Show. In 2015, Cole released Sweet Rebecca through ABC Music.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation announced on 22 January 2021 that Cole would become the new host of Saturday Night Country, its long-running national country music radio program, heard on regional ABC stations and on ABC Country. From Saturday 13 February 2021, Cole will present the program from studios at ABC Radio Adelaide. The show has a history of retaining its hosts for long time periods with Cole having only two predecessors, John Nutting and Felicity Urquhart.
Personal life
During the mid-1990s, Cole and Gina Jeffreys were flatmates, while Mick Albeck and Rod McCormack were also flatmates. Cole was married to Albeck for one-and-a-half years (1998–99), writing songs as Rebecca Diane Albeck. The couple have a son. Not long after he was born, Jeffreys and McCormack married each other. Cole's second album, Wild at Heart, dealt with her divorce; the track "Lazy Bones" was written about Albeck and their short marriage. According to Albeck, "it was tough sometimes when we were touring together, living together, bringing up the baby together and having to be on stage together at night. I guess I decided I didn't want the relationship anymore. That was pretty tough for Bec at the time".
By August 2004, Cole was living in the Central Coast region with other country musicians nearby including Kasey Chambers, Jeffreys and McCormack, Lyn Bowtell and Adam Harvey: the artists call the local area, Hillbilly Heaven. Albeck, Bowtell, Jeffreys and McCormack have assisted Cole on her albums. As of April 2012, Cole lived in Copacabana, New South Wales. In July of that year, she revealed that she is a lesbian on the ABC-TV series Australian Story. In October 2013, Cole was the inaugural ambassador for the Adelaide-based Feast Festival, and in the following month, she presented her show The Queer of Country. She explained to Suzie Keen of InDaily that "I was concerned that there may be a lack of understanding towards my sexuality. How wrong I was. What Australians appreciate more than anything is honesty".
By April 2015, Cole was living in Adelaide with her domestic partner, Libby O'Donovan, a cabaret singer. She published her autobiography, Poster Girl, in the previous month. Cole and O'Donovan were married on 2 February 2018 with fellow country musician, Tania Kernaghan, officiating. The civil ceremony was attended by Adam Harvey, Gina Jeffreys, Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Chris E Thomas, Bec Willis, Kym Warner, Trev Warner and Gina Timms. It was announced on Cole’s Facebook on the morning of 5 February 2022 that her marriage to O’Donovan had unfortunately ended.
Discography
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Video albums
Just a Girl Singer (2 August 2004) ABC Country / Universal Music Australia No. 6 AUS DVD
Singles
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"Hearts Changing Hands" (1996)
"Rest in Pieces" (1996)
"This Heart" (2000) No. 227 AUS
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Men Don't Dance Anymore" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Lifeboat" (2007)
"Here You Come Again" (2010)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"9 to 5" (with Melinda Schneider) (2014)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"F U Cancer" (Catherine Britt with Kasey Chambers, Lyn Bowtell, Josh Pyke, Wes Carr and Wendy Matthews) (2016)
"Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight" (with Adam Harvey) (2017)
"Lioness" (2018)
Music videos
"Foolin' Around" (1993)
"This Heart" (2000)
"Life Goes On" (2002)
"Little Victories" (2003)
"Sorry I Asked" (2004)
"Rainbows, Dreams And Butterflies" (2005)
"Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)" (2006)
"Shiny Things" (2011)
"Waitress" (2012)
"Love Hurts" (with Melinda Schneider) (2015)
"Broken Soldiers" (2015)
"Sweet Rebecca" (2015)
"Lioness" (2018)
Awards and nominations
ARIA Awards
he ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music.
|-
| 2001
| Wild at Heart
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2003
| Little Victories
| Best Country Album
|
|-
| 2012
| Songs and Pictures
| Best Country Album
|
|-
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
|-
| AIR Awards of 2019
|Lioness
| Best Independent Country Album
|
|-
Country Music Awards of Australia
The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.
|-
| 1994
| Beccy Cole for "Foolin' Around"
| New Talent of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=2|2001
| This Heart
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
| "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" with Darren Coggan, Felicity and Adam Harvey
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
|
|-
| 2002
| "Too Strong To Break "
| Female Vocalist of the Year
|
|-
|rowspan=3| 2007
|rowspan=3| "Poster Girl (Wrong Side of the World)"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
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| Song of the Year
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| Single of the Year
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|rowspan=2| 2012
| "Waitress"
| Female Vocalist of the Year
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| "Millionaires" (with Kasey Chambers)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
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| 2017
| "FU Cancer" (with Catherine Britt)
| Vocal Collaboration of the Year
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| 2019
| Lioness
| Female Vocalist of the Year
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Note: wins only
References
External links
1972 births
Living people
Australian country singer-songwriters
Australian women singer-songwriters
LGBT singers from Australia
LGBT songwriters
Lesbian musicians
Musicians from Adelaide
Songbirds (group) members
Dead Ringer Band members
21st-century Australian singers
21st-century Australian women singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people
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[
"Přírodní park Třebíčsko (before Oblast klidu Třebíčsko) is a natural park near Třebíč in the Czech Republic. There are many interesting plants. The park was founded in 1983.\n\nKobylinec and Ptáčovský kopeček\n\nKobylinec is a natural monument situated ca 0,5 km from the village of Trnava.\nThe area of this monument is 0,44 ha. Pulsatilla grandis can be found here and in the Ptáčovský kopeček park near Ptáčov near Třebíč. Both monuments are very popular for tourists.\n\nPonds\n\nIn the natural park there are some interesting ponds such as Velký Bor, Malý Bor, Buršík near Přeckov and a brook Březinka. Dams on the brook are examples of European beaver activity.\n\nSyenitové skály near Pocoucov\n\nSyenitové skály (rocks of syenit) near Pocoucov is one of famed locations. There are interesting granite boulders. The area of the reservation is 0,77 ha.\n\nExternal links\nParts of this article or all article was translated from Czech. The original article is :cs:Přírodní park Třebíčsko.\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links\nNature near the village Trnava which is there\n\nTřebíč\nParks in the Czech Republic\nTourist attractions in the Vysočina Region",
"Damn Interesting is an independent website founded by Alan Bellows in 2005. The website presents true stories from science, history, and psychology, primarily as long-form articles, often illustrated with original artwork. Works are written by various authors, and published at irregular intervals. The website openly rejects advertising, relying on reader and listener donations to cover operating costs.\n\nAs of October 2012, each article is also published as a podcast under the same name. In November 2019, a second podcast was launched under the title Damn Interesting Week, featuring unscripted commentary on an assortment of news articles featured on the website's \"Curated Links\" section that week. In mid-2020, a third podcast called Damn Interesting Curio Cabinet began highlighting the website's periodic short-form articles in the same radioplay format as the original podcast.\n\nIn July 2009, Damn Interesting published the print book Alien Hand Syndrome through Workman Publishing. It contains some favorites from the site and some exclusive content.\n\nAwards and recognition \nIn August 2007, PC Magazine named Damn Interesting one of the \"Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites\".\nThe article \"The Zero-Armed Bandit\" by Alan Bellows won a 2015 Sidney Award from David Brooks in The New York Times.\nThe article \"Ghoulish Acts and Dastardly Deeds\" by Alan Bellows was cited as \"nonfiction journalism from 2017 that will stand the test of time\" by Conor Friedersdorf in The Atlantic.\nThe article \"Dupes and Duplicity\" by Jennifer Lee Noonan won a 2020 Sidney Award from David Brooks in the New York Times.\n\nAccusing The Dollop of plagiarism \n\nOn July 9, 2015, Bellows posted an open letter accusing The Dollop, a comedy podcast about history, of plagiarism due to their repeated use of verbatim text from Damn Interesting articles without permission or attribution. Dave Anthony, the writer of The Dollop, responded on reddit, admitting to using Damn Interesting content, but claiming that the use was protected by fair use, and that \"historical facts are not copyrightable.\" In an article about the controversy on Plagiarism Today, Jonathan Bailey concluded, \"Any way one looks at it, The Dollop failed its ethical obligations to all of the people, not just those writing for Damn Interesting, who put in the time, energy and expertise into writing the original content upon which their show is based.\"\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Official website\n\n2005 podcast debuts"
] |
[
"Salvador Dalí",
"Symbolism"
] |
C_6b3cf6c103be4cff822da0ceaebbd6b1_0
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What type of symbolism did Dali use?
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What type of symbolism did Salvador Dalí use?
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Salvador Dalí
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Dali employed extensive symbolism in his work. For instance, the hallmark "melting watches" that first appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. The idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to Dali when he was staring at a runny piece of Camembert cheese on a hot August day. The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works. It appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants, inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk, are portrayed "with long, multijointed, almost invisible legs of desire" along with obelisks on their backs. Coupled with the image of their brittle legs, these encumbrances, noted for their phallic overtones, create a sense of phantom reality. "The elephant is a distortion in space", one analysis explains, "its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure." "I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly." --Salvador Dali, in Dawn Ades, Dali and Surrealism. The egg is another common Daliesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love; it appears in The Great Masturbator and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus. The Metamorphosis of Narcissus also symbolized death and petrification. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dali's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres. Various other animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire; the snail is connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear. Both Dali and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaques. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dali, and he adapted its form to many art works. Other foods also appear throughout his work. CANNOTANSWER
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The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works.
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Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.
Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments.
Dalí's artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Biography
Early life
Salvador Dalí was born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am, on the first floor of Carrer Monturiol, 20 in the town of Figueres, in the Empordà region, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain. Dalí's older brother, who had also been named Salvador (born 12 October 1901), had died of gastroenteritis nine months earlier, on 1 August 1903. His father, Salvador Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí (1872–1950) was a middle-class lawyer and notary, an anti-clerical atheist and Catalan federalist, whose strict disciplinary approach was tempered by his wife, Felipa Domènech Ferrés (1874–1921), who encouraged her son's artistic endeavors. In the summer of 1912, the family moved to the top floor of Carrer Monturiol 24 (presently 10). Dalí later attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes" to an "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descendants of the Moors.
Dalí was haunted by the idea of his dead brother throughout his life, mythologizing him in his writings and art. Dalí said of him, "[we] resembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections." He "was probably the first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute". Images of his brother would reappear in his later works, including Portrait of My Dead Brother (1963).
Dalí also had a sister, Anna Maria, who was three years younger. In 1949, she published a book about her brother, Dalí as Seen by His Sister.
His childhood friends included future FC Barcelona footballers Emili Sagi-Barba and Josep Samitier. During holidays at the Catalan resort town of Cadaqués, the trio played football together.
Dalí attended the Municipal Drawing School at Figueres in 1916 and also discovered modern painting on a summer vacation trip to Cadaqués with the family of Ramon Pichot, a local artist who made regular trips to Paris. The next year, Dalí's father organized an exhibition of his charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre in Figueres in 1918, a site he would return to decades later. In early 1921 the Pichot family introduced Dalí to Futurism and Dalí's uncle Anselm Domènech, who owned a bookshop in Barcelona, supplied him with books and magazines on Cubism and contemporary art.
On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer. Dalí was 16 years old and later said his mother's death "was the greatest blow I had experienced in my life. I worshipped her... I could not resign myself to the loss of a being on whom I counted to make invisible the unavoidable blemishes of my soul." After his wife's death, Dalí's father married her sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt.
Madrid, Barcelona and Paris
In 1922, Dalí moved into the Residencia de Estudiantes (Students' Residence) in Madrid and studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts). A lean tall, Dalí already drew attention as an eccentric and dandy. He had long hair and sideburns, coat, stockings, and knee-breeches in the style of English aesthetes of the late 19th century.
At the Residencia, he became close friends with Pepín Bello, Luis Buñuel, Federico García Lorca, and others associated with the Madrid avant-garde group Ultra. The friendship with Lorca had a strong element of mutual passion, but Dalí said he rejected the poet's sexual advances. Dalí's friendship with Lorca was to remain one of his most emotionally intense relationships until the poet's death at the hands of Nationalist forces in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
Also in 1922, he began what would become a lifelong relationship with the Prado Museum, which he felt was, 'incontestably the best museum of old paintings in the world.' Each Sunday morning, Dalí went to the Prado to study the works of the great masters. 'This was the start of a monk-like period for me, devoted entirely to solitary work: visits to the Prado, where, pencil in hand, I analyzed all of the great masterpieces, studio work, models, research.'
Dalí's paintings in which he experimented with Cubism earned him the most attention from his fellow students since there were no Cubist artists in Madrid at the time. Cabaret Scene (1922) is a typical example of such work. Through his association with members of the Ultra group, Dalí became more acquainted with avant-garde movements, including Dada and Futurism. One of his earliest works to show a strong Futurist and Cubist influence was the watercolor Night-Walking Dreams (1922). At this time, Dalí also read Freud and Lautréamont who were to have a profound influence on his work.
In May 1925 Dalí exhibited eleven works in a group exhibition held by the newly formed Sociedad Ibérica de Artistas in Madrid. Seven of the works were in his Cubist mode and four in a more realist style. Several leading critics praised Dalí's work. Dalí held his first solo exhibition at Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona, from 14 to 27 November 1925. This exhibition, before his exposure to Surrealism, included twenty-two works and was a critical and commercial success.
In April 1926 Dalí made his first trip to Paris where he met Pablo Picasso, whom he revered. Picasso had already heard favorable reports about Dalí from Joan Miró, a fellow Catalan who later introduced him to many Surrealist friends. As he developed his own style over the next few years, Dalí made some works strongly influenced by Picasso and Miró. Dalí was also influenced by the work of Yves Tanguy, and he later allegedly told Tanguy's niece, "I pinched everything from your uncle Yves."
Dalí left the Royal Academy in 1926, shortly before his final exams. His mastery of painting skills at that time was evidenced by his realistic The Basket of Bread, painted in 1926.
Later that year he exhibited again at Galeries Dalmau, from 31 December 1926 to 14 January 1927, with the support of the art critic . The show included twenty-three paintings and seven drawings, with the "Cubist" works displayed in a separate section from the "objective" works. The critical response was generally positive with Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) singled out for particular attention.
From 1927 Dalí's work became increasingly influenced by Surrealism. Two of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927) and Gadget and Hand (1927), were shown at the annual Autumn Salon (Saló de tardor) in Barcelona in October 1927. Dalí described the earlier of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood, as "equidistant between Cubism and Surrealism". The works featured many elements that were to become characteristic of his Surrealist period including dreamlike images, precise draftsmanship, idiosyncratic iconography (such as rotting donkeys and dismembered bodies), and lighting and landscapes strongly evocative of his native Catalonia. The works provoked bemusement among the public and debate among critics about whether Dalí had become a Surrealist.
Influenced by his reading of Freud, Dalí increasingly introduced suggestive sexual imagery and symbolism into his work. He submitted Dialogue on the Beach (Unsatisfied Desires) (1928) to the Barcelona Autumn Salon for 1928 but the work was rejected because "it was not fit to be exhibited in any gallery habitually visited by the numerous public little prepared for certain surprises." The resulting scandal was widely covered in the Barcelona press and prompted a popular Madrid illustrated weekly to publish an interview with Dalí.
Some trends in Dalí's work that would continue throughout his life were already evident in the 1920s. Dalí was influenced by many styles of art, ranging from the most academically classic, to the most cutting-edge avant-garde. His classical influences included Raphael, Bronzino, Francisco de Zurbarán, Vermeer and Velázquez. Exhibitions of his works attracted much attention and a mixture of praise and puzzled debate from critics who noted an apparent inconsistency in his work by the use of both traditional and modern techniques and motifs between works and within individual works.
In the mid-1920s Dalí grew a neatly trimmed mustache. In later decades he cultivated a more flamboyant one in the manner of 17th-century Spanish master painter Diego Velázquez, and this mustache became a well known Dalí icon.
1929 to World War II
In 1929, Dalí collaborated with Surrealist film director Luis Buñuel on the short film (An Andalusian Dog). His main contribution was to help Buñuel write the script for the film. Dalí later claimed to have also played a significant role in the filming of the project, but this is not substantiated by contemporary accounts. In August 1929, Dalí met his lifelong muse and future wife Gala, born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. She was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who at that time was married to Surrealist poet Paul Éluard.
In works such as The First Days of Spring, The Great Masturbator and The Lugubrious Game Dalí continued his exploration of the themes of sexual anxiety and unconscious desires. Dalí's first Paris exhibition was at the recently opened Goemans Gallery in November 1929 and featured eleven works. In his preface to the catalog, André Breton described Dalí's new work as "the most hallucinatory that has been produced up to now". The exhibition was a commercial success but the critical response was divided. In the same year, Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The Surrealists hailed what Dalí was later to call his paranoiac-critical method of accessing the subconscious for greater artistic creativity.
Meanwhile, Dalí's relationship with his father was close to rupture. Don Salvador Dalí y Cusi strongly disapproved of his son's romance with Gala and saw his connection to the Surrealists as a bad influence on his morals. The final straw was when Don Salvador read in a Barcelona newspaper that his son had recently exhibited in Paris a drawing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, with a provocative inscription: "Sometimes, I spit for fun on my mother's portrait". Outraged, Don Salvador demanded that his son recant publicly. Dalí refused, perhaps out of fear of expulsion from the Surrealist group, and was violently thrown out of his paternal home on 28 December 1929. His father told him that he would be disinherited and that he should never set foot in Cadaqués again. The following summer, Dalí and Gala rented a small fisherman's cabin in a nearby bay at Port Lligat. He soon bought the cabin, and over the years enlarged it by buying neighboring ones, gradually building his beloved villa by the sea. Dalí's father would eventually relent and come to accept his son's companion.
In 1931, Dalí painted one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, which developed a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic. This idea is supported by other images in the work, such as the wide expanding landscape, and other limp watches shown being devoured by ants.
Dalí had two important exhibitions at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris in June 1931 and May–June 1932. The earlier exhibition included sixteen paintings of which The Persistence of Memory attracted the most attention. Some of the notable features of the exhibitions were the proliferation of images and references to Dalí's muse Gala and the inclusion of Surrealist Objects such as Hypnagogic Clock and Clock Based on the Decomposition of Bodies. Dalí's last, and largest, the exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery was held in June 1933 and included twenty-two paintings, ten drawings, and two objects. One critic noted Dalí's precise draftsmanship and attention to detail, describing him as a "paranoiac of geometrical temperament". Dalí's first New York exhibition was held at Julien Levy's gallery in November–December 1933. The exhibition featured twenty-six works and was a commercial and critical success. The New Yorker critic praised the precision and lack of sentimentality in the works, calling them "frozen nightmares".
Dalí and Gala, having lived together since 1929, were civilly married on 30 January 1934 in Paris. They later remarried in a Church ceremony on 8 August 1958 at Sant Martí Vell. In addition to inspiring many artworks throughout her life, Gala would act as Dalí's business manager, supporting their extravagant lifestyle while adeptly steering clear of insolvency. Gala, who herself engaged in extra-marital affairs, seemed to tolerate Dalí's dalliances with younger muses, secure in her own position as his primary relationship. Dalí continued to paint her as they both aged, producing sympathetic and adoring images of her. The "tense, complex and ambiguous relationship" lasting over 50 years would later become the subject of an opera, Jo, Dalí (I, Dalí) by Catalan composer Xavier Benguerel.
Dalí's first visit to the United States in November 1934 attracted widespread press coverage. His second New York exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery in November–December 1934 and was again a commercial and critical success. Dalí delivered three lectures on Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and other venues during which he told his audience for the first time that "[t]he only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." The heiress Caresse Crosby, the inventor of the brassiere, organized a farewell fancy dress ball for Dalí on 18 January 1935. Dalí wore a glass case on his chest containing a brassiere and Gala dressed as a woman giving birth through her head. A Paris newspaper later claimed that the Dalís had dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper, a claim which Dalí denied.
While the majority of the Surrealist group had become increasingly associated with leftist politics, Dalí maintained an ambiguous position on the subject of the proper relationship between politics and art. Leading Surrealist André Breton accused Dalí of defending the "new" and "irrational" in "the Hitler phenomenon", but Dalí quickly rejected this claim, saying, "I am Hitlerian neither in fact nor intention". Dalí insisted that Surrealism could exist in an apolitical context and refused to explicitly denounce fascism. Later in 1934, Dalí was subjected to a "trial", in which he narrowly avoided being expelled from the Surrealist group. To this, Dalí retorted, "The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist."
In 1936, Dalí took part in the London International Surrealist Exhibition. His lecture, titled , was delivered while wearing a deep-sea diving suit and helmet. He had arrived carrying a billiard cue and leading a pair of Russian wolfhounds and had to have the helmet unscrewed as he gasped for breath. He commented that "I just wanted to show that I was 'plunging deeply into the human mind."
Dalí's first solo London exhibition was held at the Alex, Reid, and Lefevre Gallery the same year. The show included twenty-nine paintings and eighteen drawings. The critical response was generally favorable, although the Daily Telegraph critic wrote: "These pictures from the subconscious reveal so skilled a craftsman that the artist's return to full consciousness may be awaited with interest."
In December 1936 Dalí participated in the Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism exhibition at MoMA and a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Both exhibitions attracted large attendances and widespread press coverage. The painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936) attracted particular attention. Dalí later described it as, "a vast human body breaking out into monstrous excrescences of arms and legs tearing at one another in a delirium of auto-strangulation". On 14 December, Dalí, aged 32, was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
From 1933 Dalí was supported by Zodiac, a group of affluent admirers who each contributed to a monthly stipend for the painter in exchange for a painting of their choice. From 1936 Dalí's main patron in London was the wealthy Edward James who would support him financially for two years. One of Dalí's most important paintings from the period of James' patronage was The Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937). They also collaborated on two of the most enduring icons of the Surrealist movement: the Lobster Telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa.
Dalí was in London when the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936. When he later learned that his friend Lorca had been executed by Nationalist forces, Dalí's claimed response was to shout: "Olé!" Dalí was to include frequent references to the poet in his art and writings for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic for the duration of the conflict.
In January 1938, Dalí unveiled Rainy Taxi, a three-dimensional artwork consisting of an automobile and two mannequin occupants being soaked with rain from within the taxi. The piece was first displayed at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris at the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard. The Exposition was designed by artist Marcel Duchamp, who also served as host.
In March that year, Dalí met Sigmund Freud thanks to Stefan Zweig. As Dalí sketched Freud's portrait, Freud whispered, "That boy looks like a fanatic." Dalí was delighted upon hearing later about this comment from his hero. The following day Freud wrote to Zweig "...until now I have been inclined to regard the Surrealists, who have apparently adopted me as their patron saint, as complete fools.....That young Spaniard, with his candid fanatical eyes and his undeniable technical mastery, has changed my estimate. It would indeed be very interesting to investigate analytically how he came to create that picture [i.e. Metamorphosis of Narcissus]."
In September 1938, Salvador Dalí was invited by Gabrielle Coco Chanel to her house "La Pausa" in Roquebrune on the French Riviera. There he painted numerous paintings he later exhibited at Julien Levy Gallery in New York. This exhibition in March–April 1939 included twenty-one paintings and eleven drawings. Life reported that no exhibition in New York had been so popular since Whistler's Mother was shown in 1934.
At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Dalí debuted his Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion, located in the Amusements Area of the exposition. It featured bizarre sculptures, statues, mermaids, and live nude models in "costumes" made of fresh seafood, an event photographed by Horst P. Horst, George Platt Lynes, and Murray Korman. Dalí was angered by changes to his designs, railing against mediocrities who thought that "a woman with the tail of a fish is possible; a woman with the head of a fish impossible."
Soon after Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939, Dalí wrote to Luis Buñuel denouncing socialism and Marxism and praising Catholicism and the Falange. As a result, Buñuel broke off relations with Dalí.
In the May issue of the Surrealist magazine Minotaure, André Breton announced Dalí's expulsion from the Surrealist group, claiming that Dalí had espoused race war and that the over-refinement of his paranoiac-critical method was a repudiation of Surrealist automatism. This led many Surrealists to break off relations with Dalí. In 1949 Breton coined the derogatory nickname "Avida Dollars" (avid for dollars), an anagram for "Salvador Dalí". This was a derisive reference to the increasing commercialization of Dalí's work, and the perception that Dalí sought self-aggrandizement through fame and fortune.
World War II
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 saw the Dalís in France. Following the German invasion, they were able to escape because on 20 June 1940 they were issued visas by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France. They crossed into Portugal and subsequently sailed on the Excambion from Lisbon to New York in August 1940. Dalí and Gala were to live in the United States for eight years, splitting their time between New York and the Monterey Peninsula, California.
Dalí spent the winter of 1940–41 at Hampton Manor, the residence of Caresse Crosby, in Caroline County, Virginia, where he worked on various projects including his autobiography and paintings for his upcoming exhibition.
Dalí announced the death of the Surrealist movement and the return of classicism in his exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in April–May 1941. The exhibition included nineteen paintings (among them Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire and The Face of War) and other works. In his catalog essay and media comments, Dalí proclaimed a return to form, control, structure and the Golden Section. Sales however were disappointing and the majority of critics did not believe there had been a major change in Dalí's work.
The Museum of Modern Art held two major, simultaneous retrospectives of Dali and Joan Miró from November 1941 to February 1942, Dalí being represented by forty-two paintings and sixteen drawings. Dalí's work attracted significant attention of critics and the exhibition later toured eight American cities, enhancing his reputation in America.
In October 1942, Dalí's autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí was published simultaneously in New York and London and was reviewed widely by the press. Time magazine's reviewer called it "one of the most irresistible books of the year". George Orwell later wrote a scathing review in the Saturday Book. A passage in the autobiography in which Dalí claimed that Buñuel was solely responsible for the anti-clericalism in the film L'Age d'Or may have indirectly led to Buñuel resigning his position at MoMA in 1943 under pressure from the State Department. Dalí also published a novel Hidden Faces in 1944 with less critical and commercial success.
In the catalog essay for his exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery in New York in 1943 Dalí continued his attack on the Surrealist movement, writing: "Surrealism will at least have served to give experimental proof that total sterility and attempts at automatizations have gone too far and have led to a totalitarian system. ... Today's laziness and the total lack of technique have reached their paroxysm in the psychological signification of the current use of the college [collage]". The critical response to the society portraits in the exhibition, however, was generally negative.
In November–December 1945 Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery in New York. The exhibition included eleven oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and illustrations. Works included Basket of Bread, Atomic and Uranian Melancholic Ideal, and My Wife Nude Contemplating her own Body Transformed into Steps, the Three Vertebrae of a Column, Sky and Architecture. The exhibition was notable for works in Dalí's new classicism style and those heralding his "atomic period".
During the war years, Dalí was also engaged in projects in various other fields. He executed designs for a number of ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, and The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944). In 1945 he created the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound. He also produced artwork and designs for products such as perfumes, cosmetics, hosiery and ties.
Post War in United States (1946–48)
In 1946 Dalí worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on an unfinished animated film Destino.
Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery from November 1947 to January 1948. The 14 oil paintings and other works in the exhibition reflected Dalí's increasing interest in atomic physics. Notable works included Dematerialization Near the Nose of Nero (The Separation of the Atom), Intra-Atomic Equilibrium of a Swan's Feather, and a study for Leda Atomica. The proportions of the latter work were worked out in collaboration with a mathematician.
In early 1948 Dalí's 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship was published. The book was a mixture of anecdotes, practical advice on painting, and Dalínian polemics.
Later years in Spain
In 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near Cadaqués. For the next three decades, they would spend most of their time there, spending winters in Paris and New York. Dalí's decision to live in Spain under Franco and his public support for the regime prompted outrage from many anti-Francoist artists and intellectuals. Pablo Picasso refused to mention Dalí's name or acknowledge his existence for the rest of his life. In 1960, André Breton unsuccessfully fought against the inclusion of Dalí's Sistine Madonna in the Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanter's Domain exhibition organized by Marcel Duchamp in New York. Breton and other Surrealists issued a tract to coincide with the exhibition denouncing Dalí as "the ex-apologist of Hitler... and friend of Franco".
In December 1949 Dalí's sister Anna Maria published her book Salvador Dalí Seen by his Sister. Dalí was angered by passages that he considered derogatory towards his wife Gala and broke off relations with his family. When Dalí's father died in September 1950 Dalí learned that he had been virtually disinherited in his will. A two-year legal dispute followed over paintings and drawings Dalí had left in his family home, during which Dalí was accused of assaulting a public notary.
As Dalí moved further towards embracing Catholicism he introduced more religious iconography and themes in his painting. In 1949 he painted a study for The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949) and showed it to Pope Pius XII during an audience arranged to discuss Dalí 's marriage to Gala. This work was a precursor to the phase Dalí dubbed "Nuclear Mysticism," a fusion of Einsteinian physics, classicism, and Catholic mysticism. In paintings such as The Madonna of Port Lligat, The Christ of Saint John on the Cross and The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics. His later Nuclear Mysticism works included La Gare de Perpignan (1965) and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968–70).
Dalí's keen interest in natural science and mathematics was further manifested by the proliferation of images of DNA and rhinoceros horn shapes in works from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. Dalí was also fascinated by the Tesseract (a four-dimensional cube), using it, for example, in Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).
Dalí had been extensively using optical illusions such as double images, anamorphosis, negative space, visual puns and trompe-l'œil since his Surrealist period and this continued in his later work. At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in Port Lligat. He made extensive use of it to study foreshortening, both from above and from below, incorporating dramatic perspectives of figures and objects into his paintings. He also experimented with the bulletist technique pointillism, enlarged half-tone dot grids and stereoscopic images. He was among the first artists to employ holography in an artistic manner. In Dalí's later years, young artists such as Andy Warhol proclaimed him an important influence on pop art.
In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre-Museum in his home town of Figueres. It was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through to 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s.
In 1955 Dalí met Nanita Kalaschnikoff, who was to become a close friend, muse, and model. At a French nightclub in 1965 Dalí met Amanda Lear, a fashion model then known as Peki Oslo. Lear became his protégée and one of his muses. According to Lear, she and Dalí were united in a "spiritual marriage" on a deserted mountaintop.
Final years and death
In 1968, Dalí bought a castle in Púbol for Gala, and from 1971 she would retreat there for weeks at a time, Dalí having agreed not to visit without her written permission. His fears of abandonment and estrangement from his longtime artistic muse contributed to depression and failing health.
In 1980, at age 76, Dalí's health deteriorated sharply and he was treated for depression, drug addiction, and Parkinson-like symptoms, including a severe tremor in his right arm. There were also allegations that Gala had been supplying Dalí with pharmaceuticals from her own prescriptions.
Gala died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 87. After her death, Dalí moved from Figueres to the castle in Púbol, where she was entombed.
In 1982, King Juan Carlos bestowed on Dalí the title of Marqués de Dalí de Púbol (Marquess of Dalí of Púbol) in the nobility of Spain, Púbol being where Dalí then lived. The title was initially hereditary, but at Dalí's request was changed to life-only in 1983.
In May 1983, what was said to be Dalí's last painting, The Swallow's Tail, was revealed. The work was heavily influenced by the mathematical catastrophe theory of René Thom. However, some critics have questioned how Dalí could have executed a painting with such precision given the severe tremor in his painting arm.
From early 1984 Dalí's depression worsened and he refused food, leading to severe undernourishment. Dalí had previously stated his intention to put himself into a state of suspended animation as he had read that some microorganisms could do. In August 1984 a fire broke out in Dalí's bedroom and he was hospitalized with severe burns. Two judicial inquiries found that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and no findings of negligence were made. After his release from hospital Dalí moved to the Torre Galatea, an annex to the Dalí Theatre-Museum.
There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that could later be used in forgeries. It is also alleged that he knowingly sold otherwise-blank lithograph paper which he had signed, possibly producing over 50,000 such sheets from 1965 until his death. As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí.
In July 1986, Dalí had a pacemaker implanted. On his return to his Theatre-Museum he made a brief public appearance, saying:
In November 1988, Dalí entered hospital with heart failure. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí. Dalí gave the king a drawing, Head of Europa, which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing.
On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The location is across the street from the church of Sant Pere, where he had his baptism, first communion, and funeral, and is only from the house where he was born.
The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate. The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the Artists Rights Society.
Exhumation
On 26 June 2017 it was announced that a judge in Madrid had ordered the exhumation of Dalí's body in order to obtain samples for a paternity suit. Joan Manuel Sevillano, manager of the Fundación Gala Salvador Dalí (The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation), denounced the exhumation as inappropriate. The exhumation took place on the evening of 20 July, and his DNA was extracted. On 6 September 2017 the Foundation stated that the tests carried out proved conclusively that Dalí and the claimant were not related. On 18 May 2020 a Spanish court dismissed an appeal from the claimant and ordered her to pay the costs of the exhumation.
Symbolism
From the late 1920s, Dalí progressively introduced many bizarre or incongruous images into his work which invite symbolic interpretation. While some of these images suggest a straightforward sexual or Freudian interpretation (Dalí read Freud in the 1920s) others (such as locusts, rotting donkeys, and sea urchins) are idiosyncratic and have been variously interpreted. Some commentators have cautioned that Dalí's own comments on these images are not always reliable.
Food
Food and eating have a central place in Dalí's thoughts and work. He associated food with beauty and sex and was obsessed with the image of the female praying mantis eating her mate after copulation. Bread was a recurring image in Dalí's art, from his early work The Basket of Bread to later public performances such as in 1958 when he gave a lecture in Paris armed with a 12-meter-long baguette. He saw bread as "the elementary basis of continuity" and "sacred subsistence".
The egg is another common Dalínian image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love. It appears in The Great Masturbator, The Metamorphosis of Narcissus and many other works. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dalí's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres.
Both Dalí and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaqués. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dalí, and he adapted its form to many artworks. Other foods also appear throughout his work.
The famous "melting watches" that appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. Dalí later claimed that the idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to him when he was contemplating Camembert cheese.
Animals
The rhinoceros and rhinoceros horn shapes began to proliferate in Dalí's work from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary. However, he also used it as an obvious phallic symbol as in Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity.
Various other animals appear throughout Dalí's work: rotting donkeys and ants have been interpreted as pointing to death, decay, and sexual desire; the snail as connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts as a symbol of waste and fear. The elephant is also a recurring image in his work; for example, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants are inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk.
Science
Dalí's life-long interest in science and mathematics was often reflected in his work. His soft watches have been interpreted as references to Einstein's theory of the relativity of time and space. Images of atomic particles appeared in his work soon after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and strands of D.N.A. appeared from the mid-1950s. In 1958 he wrote in his Anti-Matter Manifesto: "In the Surrealist period, I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world and the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud. Today, the exterior world and that of physics have transcended the one of psychology. My father today is Dr. Heisenberg."
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954) harks back to The Persistence of Memory (1931) and in portraying that painting in fragmentation and disintegration has been interpreted as a reference to Heisenberg's quantum mechanics.
Endeavors outside painting
Dalí was a versatile artist. Some of his more popular works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theater, fashion, and photography, among other areas.
Sculptures and other objects
From the early 1930s, Dalí was an enthusiastic proponent of the proliferation of three-dimensional Surrealist Objects to subvert perceptions of conventional reality, writing: "museums will fast fill with objects whose uselessness, size and crowding will necessitate the construction, in deserts, of special towers to contain them." His more notable early objects include Board of Demented Associations (1930–31), Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933), Venus de Milo with Chest of Drawers (1936) and Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket (1936). Two of the most popular objects of the Surrealist movement were Lobster Telephone (1936) and Mae West Lips Sofa (1937) which were commissioned by art patron Edward James. Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for Dalí who drew a close analogy between food and sex. The telephone was functional, and James purchased four of them from Dalí to replace the phones in his home. The Mae West Lips Sofa was shaped after the lips of actress Mae West, who was previously the subject of Dalí's watercolor, The Face of Mae West which may be used as a Surrealist Apartment (1934–35). In December 1936 Dalí sent Harpo Marx a Christmas present of a harp with barbed-wire strings.
After World War II Dalí authorized many sculptures derived from his most famous works and images. In his later years other sculptures also appeared, often in large editions, whose authenticity has sometimes been questioned.
Between 1941 and 1970, Dalí created an ensemble of 39 pieces of jewelry, many of which are intricate, some containing moving parts. The most famous assemblage, The Royal Heart, is made of gold and is encrusted with 46 rubies, 42 diamonds, and four emeralds, created in such a way that the center "beats" like a heart.
Dalí ventured into industrial design in the 1970s with a 500-piece run of Suomi tableware by Timo Sarpaneva that Dalí decorated for the German Rosenthal porcelain maker's "Studio Linie". In 1969 he designed the Chupa Chups logo. He facilitated the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and created a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Theater and film
In theater, Dalí designed the scenery for Federico García Lorca's 1927 romantic play Mariana Pineda. For Bacchanale (1939), a ballet based on and set to the music of Richard Wagner's 1845 opera Tannhäuser, Dalí provided both the set design and the libretto. He executed designs for a number of other ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944) and The Three-Cornered Hat (1949).
Dalí became interested in film when he was young, going to the theater most Sundays. By the late 1920s he was fascinated by the potential of film to reveal "the unlimited fantasy born of things themselves" and went on to collaborate with the director Luis Buñuel on two Surrealist films: the 17-minute short Un Chien Andalou (1929) and the feature film L'Age d'Or (1930). Dalí and Buñuel agree that they jointly developed the script and imagery of Un Chien Andalou, but there is controversy over the extent of Dalí's contribution to L'Age d'Or. Un Chien Andalou features a graphic opening scene of a human eyeball being slashed with a razor and develops surreal imagery and irrational discontinuities in time and space to produce a dreamlike quality. L'Age d'Or is more overtly anti-clerical and anti-establishment, and was banned after right-wing groups staged a riot in the Parisian theater where it was being shown. Summarizing the impact of these two films on the Surrealist film movement, one commentator has stated: "If Un Chien Andalou stands as the supreme record of Surrealism's adventures into the realm of the unconscious, then L'Âge d'Or is perhaps the most trenchant and implacable expression of its revolutionary intent."
After he collaborated with Buñuel, Dalí worked on several unrealized film projects including a published script for a film, Babaouo (1932); a scenario for Harpo Marx called Giraffes on Horseback Salad (1937); and an abandoned dream sequence for the film Moontide (1942). In 1945 Dalí created the dream sequence in Hitchcock's Spellbound, but neither Dalí nor the director was satisfied with the result. Dalí also worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on the short film Destino in 1946. After initially being abandoned, the animated film was completed in 2003 by Baker Bloodworth and Walt Disney's nephew Roy E. Disney. Between 1954 and 1961 Dalí worked with photographer Robert Descharnes on The Prodigious History of the Lacemaker and the Rhinoceros, but the film was never completed.
In the 1960s Dalí worked with some directors on documentary and performance films including with Philippe Halsman on Chaos and Creation (1960), Jack Bond on Dalí in New York (1966) and Jean-Christophe Averty on Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dalí (1966).
Dalí collaborated with director José-Montes Baquer on the pseudo-documentary film Impressions of Upper Mongolia (1975), in which Dalí narrates a story about an expedition in search of giant hallucinogenic mushrooms. In the mid-1970s film director Alejandro Jodorowsky initially cast Dalí in the role of the Padishah Emperor in a production of Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. However, Jodorowsky changed his mind after Dalí publicly supported the execution of alleged ETA terrorists in December 1975. The film was ultimately never made.
In 1972 Dalí began to write the scenario for an opera-poem called Être Dieu (To Be God). The Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán wrote the libretto and Igor Wakhévitch the music. The opera poem was recorded in Paris in 1974 with Dalí in the role of the protagonist.
Fashion and photography
Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli worked with Dalí from the 1930s and commissioned him to produce a white dress with a lobster print. Other designs Dalí made for her include a shoe-shaped hat and a pink belt with lips for a buckle. He was also involved in creating textile designs and perfume bottles. In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.
Photographers with whom he collaborated include Man Ray, Brassaï, Cecil Beaton, and Philippe Halsman. Halsman produced the Dalí Atomica series (1948) – inspired by Dalí's painting Leda Atomica – which in one photograph depicts "a painter's easel, three cats, a bucket of water, and Dalí himself floating in the air".
Architecture
Dalí's architectural achievements include his Port Lligat house near Cadaqués, as well as his Theatre Museum in Figueres. A major work outside of Spain was the temporary Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which contained several unusual sculptures and statues, including live performers posing as statues.
Literary works
In his only novel, Hidden Faces (1944), Dalí describes the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolizes the decadence of the 1930s. The Comte de Grandsailles and Solange de Cléda pursue a love affair, but interwar political turmoil and other vicissitudes drive them apart. It is variously set in Paris, rural France, Casablanca in North Africa, and Palm Springs in the United States. Secondary characters include aging widow Barbara Rogers, her bisexual daughter Veronica, Veronica's sometime female lover Betka, and Baba, a disfigured U.S. fighter pilot. The novel was written in New York, and translated by Haakon Chevalier.
His other literary works include The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942), Diary of a Genius (1966), and Oui: The Paranoid-Critical Revolution (1971). Dalí also published poetry, essays, art criticism, and a technical manual on art.
Graphic arts
Dalí worked extensively in the graphic arts, producing many drawings, etchings, and lithographs. Among the most notable of these works are forty etchings for an edition of Lautréamont's The Songs of Maldoror (1933) and eighty drypoint reworkings of Goya's Caprichos (1973–77). From the 1960s, however, Dalí would often sell the rights to images but not be involved in the print production itself. In addition, a large number of fakes were produced in the 1980s and 1990s, thus further confusing the Dalí print market.
Book illustrations were an important part of Dalí's work throughout his career. His first book illustration was for the 1924 publication of the Catalan poem ("The Witches of Liers") by his friend and schoolmate, poet Carles Fages de Climent. His other notable book illustrations, apart from The Songs of Maldoror, include 101 watercolors and engravings for The Divine Comedy (1960) and 100 drawings and watercolors for The Arabian Nights (1964).
Politics and personality
Politics and religion
As a youth, Dalí identified as Communist, anti-monarchist and anti-clerical and in 1924 he was briefly imprisoned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship as a person "intensely liable to cause public disorder". When Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in 1929 his political activism initially intensified. In 1931, he became involved in the Workers' and Peasants' Front, delivering lectures at meetings and contributing to their party journal. However, as political divisions within the Surrealist group grew, Dalí soon developed a more apolitical stance, refusing to publicly denounce fascism. In 1934, Andre Breton accused him of being sympathetic to Hitler and Dalí narrowly avoided being expelled from the group. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic. However, immediately after Franco's victory in 1939, Dalí praised Catholicism and the Falange and was expelled from the Surrealist group.
After Dalí's return to his native Catalonia in 1948, he publicly supported Franco's regime and announced his return to the Catholic faith. Dalí was granted an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1949 and with Pope John XXIII in 1959. He had official meetings with General Franco in June 1956, October 1968, and May 1974. In 1968, Dalí stated that on Franco's death there should be no return to democracy and Spain should become an absolute monarchy. In September 1975, Dalí publicly supported Franco's decision to execute three alleged Basque terrorists and repeated his support for an absolute monarchy, adding: "Personally, I'm against freedom; I'm for the Holy Inquisition." In the following days, he fled to New York after his home in Port Lligat was stoned and he had received numerous death threats. When King Juan Carlos visited the ailing Dalí in August 1981, Dalí told him: "I have always been an anarchist and a monarchist."
Dalí espoused a mystical view of Catholicism and in his later years he claimed to be a Catholic and an agnostic. He was interested in the writings of the Jesuit priest and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin and his Omega Point theory. Dalí's painting Tuna Fishing (Homage to Meissonier) (1967) was inspired by his reading of Chardin.
Sexuality
Dalí's sexuality had a profound influence on his work. He stated that as a child he saw a book with graphic illustrations of venereal diseases and this provoked a life-long disgust of female genitalia and a fear of impotence and sexual intimacy. Dalí frequently stated that his main sexual activity involved voyeurism and masturbation and his preferred sexual orifice was the anus. Dalí said that his wife Gala was the only person with whom he had achieved complete coitus. From 1927 Dalí's work featured graphic and symbolic sexual images usually associated with other images evoking shame and disgust. Images of anality and excrement also abound in his work from this time. Some of the most notable works reflecting these themes include The First Days of Spring (1929), The Great Masturbator (1929), and The Lugubrious Game (1929). Several of Dalí's intimates in the 1960s and 1970s have stated that he would arrange for selected guests to perform choreographed sexual activities to aid his voyeurism and masturbation.
Personality
Dalí was renowned for his eccentric and ostentatious behavior throughout his career. In 1941, the Director of Exhibitions and Publications at MoMA wrote: "The fame of Salvador Dalí has been an issue of particular controversy for more than a decade...Dalí's conduct may have been undignified, but the greater part of his art is a matter of dead earnest." When Dalí was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 1979, one of his fellow academicians stated that he hoped Dalí would now abandon his "clowneries".
In 1936, at the premiere screening of Joseph Cornell's film Rose Hobart at Julien Levy's gallery in New York City, Dalí knocked over the projector in a rage. "My idea for a film is exactly that," he said shortly afterward, "I never wrote it down or told anyone, but it is as if he had stolen it!" In 1939, while working on a window display for Bonwit Teller, he became so enraged by unauthorized changes to his work that he pushed a display bathtub through a plate glass window. In 1955, he delivered a lecture at the Sorbonne, arriving in a Rolls Royce full of cauliflowers. To promote Robert Descharnes' 1962 book The World of Salvador Dalí, he appeared in a Manhattan bookstore on a bed, wired up to a machine that traced his brain waves and blood pressure. He would autograph books while thus monitored, and the book buyer would also be given the paper chart recording.
After World War II, Dalí became one of the most recognized artists in the world, and his long cape, walking stick, haughty expression, and upturned waxed mustache became icons of his brand. His boastfulness and public declarations of his genius became essential elements of the public Dalí persona: "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí".
Dalí frequently traveled with his pet ocelot Babou, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner SS France. He was also known to avoid paying at restaurants by executing drawings on the checks he wrote. His theory was the restaurant would never want to cash such a valuable piece of art, and he was usually correct.
Dalí's fame meant he was a frequent guest on television in Spain, France and the United States, including appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on 7 January 1963 The Mike Wallace Interview and the panel show What's My Line?. Dalí appeared on The Dick Cavett Show on 6 March 1970 carrying an anteater.
He also appeared in numerous advertising campaigns such for chocolates and Braniff International Airlines in 1968.
Legacy
Two major museums are devoted to Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Dalí's life and work have been an important influence on pop art, other Surrealists, and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. He has been portrayed on film by Robert Pattinson in Little Ashes (2008), and by Adrien Brody in Midnight in Paris (2011). The Salvador Dalí Desert in Bolivia and the Dalí crater on the planet Mercury are named for him.
The Spanish television series Money Heist (2017–2021) includes characters wearing a costume of red jumpsuits and Dalí masks. The creator of the series stated that the Dalí mask was chosen because it was an iconic Spanish image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation protested against the use of Dalí's image without the authorisation of the Dali estate. Following the popular success of the series, there were reports of people in various countries wearing the costume while participating in political protests, committing crimes or as fancy dress.
Honors
1964: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
1972: Associate member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
1978: Associate member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France
1981: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
1982: Created 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, by King Juan Carlos
List of selected works
Dalí produced over 1,600 paintings and numerous graphic works, sculptures, three-dimensional objects, and designs. Below is a sample of important and representative works.
Landscape Near Figueras (1910–14)
Vilabertran (1910–14)
Cabaret Scene (1922)
Night Walking Dreams (1922)
The Basket of Bread (1926)
Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) (1927)
Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927)
Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) (1929) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
The Lugubrious Game (1929)
The Great Masturbator (1929)
The First Days of Spring (1929)
L'Age d'Or (The Golden Age) (1930) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
Board of Demented Associations (1930–31) (Surrealist object)
Premature Ossification of a Railway Station (1931)
The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933) (mixed media sculpture collage)
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (c.1934)
Lobster Telephone (1936)
Venus de Milo with Drawers (1936)
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936)
Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937)
Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937)
The Burning Giraffe (1937)
Mae West Lips Sofa (1937)
Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach (1938)
Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time (1939)
Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire (1940)
The Face of War (also known as The Visage of the War) (1940)
Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man (1943)
Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (c.1944)
Basket of Bread – Rather Death than Shame (1945)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946)
The Elephants (1948) (also known as Project for "As You Like It")
Leda Atomica (1947–1949)
The Madonna of Port Lligat (1949)
Christ of Saint John of the Cross (also known as The Christ) (1951)
Galatea of the Spheres (1952) (also known as Gala Placidia)
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1952–54)
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) (c.1954) (also known as Hypercubic Christ)
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity (1954)
The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955)
Still Life Moving Fast (c. 1956) (also known as Fast-Moving Still Life)
The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (1958)
Perpignan Railway Station (c. 1965)
Tuna Fishing (1966–67)
The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1970)
Nieuw Amsterdam (1974 object/sculpture)
The Swallow's Tail (c.1983)
Dalí museums and permanent exhibitions
Dalí Theatre-Museum – Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, holds the largest collection of Dalí's work
Gala Dalí House-Museum – Castle of Púbol in Púbol, Catalonia, Spain
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum) – Madrid, Spain, holds a significant collection
Salvador Dalí House Museum – Port Lligat, Catalonia, Spain
Salvador Dalí Museum – St Petersburg, Florida, contains the collection of Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, and over 1500 works by Dalí, including seven large "masterworks"
Major temporary exhibitions
In 2018, a traveling museum exhibition focusing on Dalí's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy premiered at the Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana. The exhibition titled Salvador Dalí's Stairway to Heaven will be touring the United States through 2021.
Gallery
See also
List of Spanish artists
Salvador Dalí and Dance
References
Further reading
Important books by or about Salvador Dalí readily available in English include:
Ades, Dawn, Salvador Dalí, Thames and Hudson, 1995 (2nd ed.)
Dalí, Salvador, Oui: the paranoid-critical revolution: writings 1927–1933, (edited by Robert Descharnes, translated by Yvonne Shafir), Boston: Exact Change, 1998
Dalí, Salvador, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, New York, Dover, 1993 (translated by Haakon M. Chevalier, first published 1942)
Dalí, Salvador, The Diary of a Genius, London, Hutchinson, 1990 (translated by Richard Howard, first published 1964)
Dalí, Salvador, The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dalí, London, Quartet Books, 1977 (first published 1973)
Descharnes, Robert, Salvador Dalí (translated by Eleanor R. Morse), New York, Abradale Press, 1993
Gibson, Ian, The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí, London, Faber and Faber, 1997
Shanes, Eric, Salvador Dalí, Parkstone International, 2014
External links
Salvador Dalí on What's My Line?
Interview and bank advertisement.
A collection of interviews and footage of Dalí in the French television
Mike Wallace interviews Salvador Dalí Archived 15 December 2015. Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin
Panorama: Salvador Dali - Malcolm Muggeridge BBC interview, first transmitted 4 May 1955
Salvador Dalí at LletrA, Catalan Literature Online (Open University of Catalonia).
1904 births
1989 deaths
People from Figueres
Spanish artists
20th-century Spanish painters
Spanish male painters
Surrealist artists
Painters from Catalonia
Spanish illustrators
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Marquesses of Spain
Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium
Modern painters
Spanish printmakers
Spanish erotic artists
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish surrealist artists
Surrealist filmmakers
20th-century Spanish sculptors
20th-century male artists
Spanish male sculptors
Mathematical artists
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Federico García Lorca
1939 New York World's Fair artists
Spanish people of Arab descent
Spanish people of Jewish descent
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"Salvador Dali's Tarot is a book by Rachel Pollack published in 1985.\n\nContents\nSalvador Dali's Tarot is a book about the 78 paintings of Dalí's personal Tarot pack, each of which is reproduced in color on its own page.\n\nReception\nDave Langford reviewed Salvador Dali's Tarot for White Dwarf #71, and stated that \"I have no faith in fortune-telling, but the cabalistic symbolism is fascinating ... especially when refracted through the eye of a supremely dotty surrealist.\"\n\nReferences\n\nSalvador Dalí",
"Living Still Life (French: Nature Morte Vivante) is a painting by the artist Salvador Dalí. Dali painted this piece during a period that he called \"Nuclear Mysticism\". Nuclear Mysticism is composed of different theories that try to show the relationships between quantum physics and the conscious mind. The different theories are composed of elements that range from \"Catalan philosophers” to \"classicism, pop art, and nuclear physics\". The painting, done in 1956, currently resides at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.\n\nThe name Nature Morte Vivante translates in English to \"living still life\". It comes from the French nature morte which literally translates to \"dead nature\". By appending \"vivante\", which implies \"fast moving action and a certain lively quality\", Dali was essentially naming this piece \"dead nature in movement\". This plays into his theme of Nuclear Mysticism which combined elements of art, physics, and science. The theory, as well as the term, \"Nuclear Mysticism\" was coined by Dali himself. In the late 1940s and early 1950s Dali started to \"return to his Catholic roots following World War II\". Nuclear mysticism is composed of different theories by Dali that combine science, physics, maths, and art. Post WWII, Dali became fascinated by the atom. Dali stated that after the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb in Japan that it \"shook me [Dali] seismically” and that the atom was his \"favorite food for thought\".\n\nDali saw the beauty of the atom and was interested in how the atom makes up everything. In this painting, Dali wanted to show the motion that all objects have, that although an object is still, it is always full of millions of atoms that are constantly in motion. He portrays this thought throughout his painting. Every object in the painting is moving in some direction, one that an object of that type normally does not do. Dali was also obsessed with the spiral, which he thought to be \"the most important feature in nature\", and used it as \"a symbol of cosmic order\". Dali portrayed this idea by adding a spiral in the top right corner of his painting. Not only does Dali portray his objects flying around the scene, he shows them twisted in usual ways. For example, the silver bowl is not only shown mid-air, but also twisted in an unnatural way for silver to bend. Dali also infused religious elements of Nuclear Mysticism into this painting. On the table with the white tablecloth, the objects placed closest to the table and that appear to be the least in motion are a glass of wine, two grapes, a pear, a glass bottle with water pouring out, and what appears to be a fig leaf. The fig leaf has long been a religious symbol associated with Christianity. In the Bible, Adam and Eve use fig leaves to cover themselves after their deception in the Garden of Eden. The placement of the fig leaf in Dali's painting could allude to his reemergence back into Catholicism.\n\nDali took inspiration from Dutch painter Floris van Schooten and his painting Table with Food for his own painting Nature Morte Vivante. Van Schooten's painting, which was a very common type of painting for its time, was a very typical still life that depicted food and drinks on a table with a crisp white tablecloth. Dali wanted to give his own take on it, and give it his surrealist signature by showing all of the objects in motion. He also added the tablecloth, which looks very similar to tablecloths that Schooten had used throughout his own paintings. Even though most of the objects Dali portrays are ordinary things, he puts a spin, literally and figuratively, on the motion and placement of the objects. The disarray of the objects alludes to his interest in nuclear mysticism. He believed that \"all matter was not at all like it seemed, but instead had attributes that even he was only able to guess\". He wanted to enforce that \"that all objects are made of atomic particles in constant motion\", which he portrays through the scattered items. He painted the still life objects to move in a life of his own, without the complacency of a typical still life.\n\nNotes\n\nReferences\nKropf, Joan R. (2000). \"Salvador Dali: The Atomic Period, 1945–1960\". Ph.D. diss., ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing.\n\nRelated paintings\nDali, Salvador. Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory. 1952–54. Oil on canvas. 10 in. x 13 in. The Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida.\nSchooten, Floris van. A Dutch Breakfast, 1612–1655. Oil on panel. 24.8 in. x 32.7. The Louvre, Paris.\n\nPaintings by Salvador Dalí\n1956 paintings\nStill life paintings\nWater in art\nFood and drink paintings\nPaintings in St. Petersburg, Florida"
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"Salvador Dalí",
"Symbolism",
"What type of symbolism did Dali use?",
"The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works."
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What did the elephant mean?
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What did the elephant in Salvador Dalí's works mean?
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Salvador Dalí
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Dali employed extensive symbolism in his work. For instance, the hallmark "melting watches" that first appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. The idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to Dali when he was staring at a runny piece of Camembert cheese on a hot August day. The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works. It appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants, inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk, are portrayed "with long, multijointed, almost invisible legs of desire" along with obelisks on their backs. Coupled with the image of their brittle legs, these encumbrances, noted for their phallic overtones, create a sense of phantom reality. "The elephant is a distortion in space", one analysis explains, "its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure." "I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly." --Salvador Dali, in Dawn Ades, Dali and Surrealism. The egg is another common Daliesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love; it appears in The Great Masturbator and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus. The Metamorphosis of Narcissus also symbolized death and petrification. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dali's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres. Various other animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire; the snail is connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear. Both Dali and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaques. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dali, and he adapted its form to many art works. Other foods also appear throughout his work. CANNOTANSWER
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"The elephant is a distortion in space", one analysis explains, "its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure.
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Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.
Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments.
Dalí's artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Biography
Early life
Salvador Dalí was born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am, on the first floor of Carrer Monturiol, 20 in the town of Figueres, in the Empordà region, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain. Dalí's older brother, who had also been named Salvador (born 12 October 1901), had died of gastroenteritis nine months earlier, on 1 August 1903. His father, Salvador Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí (1872–1950) was a middle-class lawyer and notary, an anti-clerical atheist and Catalan federalist, whose strict disciplinary approach was tempered by his wife, Felipa Domènech Ferrés (1874–1921), who encouraged her son's artistic endeavors. In the summer of 1912, the family moved to the top floor of Carrer Monturiol 24 (presently 10). Dalí later attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes" to an "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descendants of the Moors.
Dalí was haunted by the idea of his dead brother throughout his life, mythologizing him in his writings and art. Dalí said of him, "[we] resembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections." He "was probably the first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute". Images of his brother would reappear in his later works, including Portrait of My Dead Brother (1963).
Dalí also had a sister, Anna Maria, who was three years younger. In 1949, she published a book about her brother, Dalí as Seen by His Sister.
His childhood friends included future FC Barcelona footballers Emili Sagi-Barba and Josep Samitier. During holidays at the Catalan resort town of Cadaqués, the trio played football together.
Dalí attended the Municipal Drawing School at Figueres in 1916 and also discovered modern painting on a summer vacation trip to Cadaqués with the family of Ramon Pichot, a local artist who made regular trips to Paris. The next year, Dalí's father organized an exhibition of his charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre in Figueres in 1918, a site he would return to decades later. In early 1921 the Pichot family introduced Dalí to Futurism and Dalí's uncle Anselm Domènech, who owned a bookshop in Barcelona, supplied him with books and magazines on Cubism and contemporary art.
On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer. Dalí was 16 years old and later said his mother's death "was the greatest blow I had experienced in my life. I worshipped her... I could not resign myself to the loss of a being on whom I counted to make invisible the unavoidable blemishes of my soul." After his wife's death, Dalí's father married her sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt.
Madrid, Barcelona and Paris
In 1922, Dalí moved into the Residencia de Estudiantes (Students' Residence) in Madrid and studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts). A lean tall, Dalí already drew attention as an eccentric and dandy. He had long hair and sideburns, coat, stockings, and knee-breeches in the style of English aesthetes of the late 19th century.
At the Residencia, he became close friends with Pepín Bello, Luis Buñuel, Federico García Lorca, and others associated with the Madrid avant-garde group Ultra. The friendship with Lorca had a strong element of mutual passion, but Dalí said he rejected the poet's sexual advances. Dalí's friendship with Lorca was to remain one of his most emotionally intense relationships until the poet's death at the hands of Nationalist forces in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
Also in 1922, he began what would become a lifelong relationship with the Prado Museum, which he felt was, 'incontestably the best museum of old paintings in the world.' Each Sunday morning, Dalí went to the Prado to study the works of the great masters. 'This was the start of a monk-like period for me, devoted entirely to solitary work: visits to the Prado, where, pencil in hand, I analyzed all of the great masterpieces, studio work, models, research.'
Dalí's paintings in which he experimented with Cubism earned him the most attention from his fellow students since there were no Cubist artists in Madrid at the time. Cabaret Scene (1922) is a typical example of such work. Through his association with members of the Ultra group, Dalí became more acquainted with avant-garde movements, including Dada and Futurism. One of his earliest works to show a strong Futurist and Cubist influence was the watercolor Night-Walking Dreams (1922). At this time, Dalí also read Freud and Lautréamont who were to have a profound influence on his work.
In May 1925 Dalí exhibited eleven works in a group exhibition held by the newly formed Sociedad Ibérica de Artistas in Madrid. Seven of the works were in his Cubist mode and four in a more realist style. Several leading critics praised Dalí's work. Dalí held his first solo exhibition at Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona, from 14 to 27 November 1925. This exhibition, before his exposure to Surrealism, included twenty-two works and was a critical and commercial success.
In April 1926 Dalí made his first trip to Paris where he met Pablo Picasso, whom he revered. Picasso had already heard favorable reports about Dalí from Joan Miró, a fellow Catalan who later introduced him to many Surrealist friends. As he developed his own style over the next few years, Dalí made some works strongly influenced by Picasso and Miró. Dalí was also influenced by the work of Yves Tanguy, and he later allegedly told Tanguy's niece, "I pinched everything from your uncle Yves."
Dalí left the Royal Academy in 1926, shortly before his final exams. His mastery of painting skills at that time was evidenced by his realistic The Basket of Bread, painted in 1926.
Later that year he exhibited again at Galeries Dalmau, from 31 December 1926 to 14 January 1927, with the support of the art critic . The show included twenty-three paintings and seven drawings, with the "Cubist" works displayed in a separate section from the "objective" works. The critical response was generally positive with Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) singled out for particular attention.
From 1927 Dalí's work became increasingly influenced by Surrealism. Two of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927) and Gadget and Hand (1927), were shown at the annual Autumn Salon (Saló de tardor) in Barcelona in October 1927. Dalí described the earlier of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood, as "equidistant between Cubism and Surrealism". The works featured many elements that were to become characteristic of his Surrealist period including dreamlike images, precise draftsmanship, idiosyncratic iconography (such as rotting donkeys and dismembered bodies), and lighting and landscapes strongly evocative of his native Catalonia. The works provoked bemusement among the public and debate among critics about whether Dalí had become a Surrealist.
Influenced by his reading of Freud, Dalí increasingly introduced suggestive sexual imagery and symbolism into his work. He submitted Dialogue on the Beach (Unsatisfied Desires) (1928) to the Barcelona Autumn Salon for 1928 but the work was rejected because "it was not fit to be exhibited in any gallery habitually visited by the numerous public little prepared for certain surprises." The resulting scandal was widely covered in the Barcelona press and prompted a popular Madrid illustrated weekly to publish an interview with Dalí.
Some trends in Dalí's work that would continue throughout his life were already evident in the 1920s. Dalí was influenced by many styles of art, ranging from the most academically classic, to the most cutting-edge avant-garde. His classical influences included Raphael, Bronzino, Francisco de Zurbarán, Vermeer and Velázquez. Exhibitions of his works attracted much attention and a mixture of praise and puzzled debate from critics who noted an apparent inconsistency in his work by the use of both traditional and modern techniques and motifs between works and within individual works.
In the mid-1920s Dalí grew a neatly trimmed mustache. In later decades he cultivated a more flamboyant one in the manner of 17th-century Spanish master painter Diego Velázquez, and this mustache became a well known Dalí icon.
1929 to World War II
In 1929, Dalí collaborated with Surrealist film director Luis Buñuel on the short film (An Andalusian Dog). His main contribution was to help Buñuel write the script for the film. Dalí later claimed to have also played a significant role in the filming of the project, but this is not substantiated by contemporary accounts. In August 1929, Dalí met his lifelong muse and future wife Gala, born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. She was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who at that time was married to Surrealist poet Paul Éluard.
In works such as The First Days of Spring, The Great Masturbator and The Lugubrious Game Dalí continued his exploration of the themes of sexual anxiety and unconscious desires. Dalí's first Paris exhibition was at the recently opened Goemans Gallery in November 1929 and featured eleven works. In his preface to the catalog, André Breton described Dalí's new work as "the most hallucinatory that has been produced up to now". The exhibition was a commercial success but the critical response was divided. In the same year, Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The Surrealists hailed what Dalí was later to call his paranoiac-critical method of accessing the subconscious for greater artistic creativity.
Meanwhile, Dalí's relationship with his father was close to rupture. Don Salvador Dalí y Cusi strongly disapproved of his son's romance with Gala and saw his connection to the Surrealists as a bad influence on his morals. The final straw was when Don Salvador read in a Barcelona newspaper that his son had recently exhibited in Paris a drawing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, with a provocative inscription: "Sometimes, I spit for fun on my mother's portrait". Outraged, Don Salvador demanded that his son recant publicly. Dalí refused, perhaps out of fear of expulsion from the Surrealist group, and was violently thrown out of his paternal home on 28 December 1929. His father told him that he would be disinherited and that he should never set foot in Cadaqués again. The following summer, Dalí and Gala rented a small fisherman's cabin in a nearby bay at Port Lligat. He soon bought the cabin, and over the years enlarged it by buying neighboring ones, gradually building his beloved villa by the sea. Dalí's father would eventually relent and come to accept his son's companion.
In 1931, Dalí painted one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, which developed a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic. This idea is supported by other images in the work, such as the wide expanding landscape, and other limp watches shown being devoured by ants.
Dalí had two important exhibitions at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris in June 1931 and May–June 1932. The earlier exhibition included sixteen paintings of which The Persistence of Memory attracted the most attention. Some of the notable features of the exhibitions were the proliferation of images and references to Dalí's muse Gala and the inclusion of Surrealist Objects such as Hypnagogic Clock and Clock Based on the Decomposition of Bodies. Dalí's last, and largest, the exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery was held in June 1933 and included twenty-two paintings, ten drawings, and two objects. One critic noted Dalí's precise draftsmanship and attention to detail, describing him as a "paranoiac of geometrical temperament". Dalí's first New York exhibition was held at Julien Levy's gallery in November–December 1933. The exhibition featured twenty-six works and was a commercial and critical success. The New Yorker critic praised the precision and lack of sentimentality in the works, calling them "frozen nightmares".
Dalí and Gala, having lived together since 1929, were civilly married on 30 January 1934 in Paris. They later remarried in a Church ceremony on 8 August 1958 at Sant Martí Vell. In addition to inspiring many artworks throughout her life, Gala would act as Dalí's business manager, supporting their extravagant lifestyle while adeptly steering clear of insolvency. Gala, who herself engaged in extra-marital affairs, seemed to tolerate Dalí's dalliances with younger muses, secure in her own position as his primary relationship. Dalí continued to paint her as they both aged, producing sympathetic and adoring images of her. The "tense, complex and ambiguous relationship" lasting over 50 years would later become the subject of an opera, Jo, Dalí (I, Dalí) by Catalan composer Xavier Benguerel.
Dalí's first visit to the United States in November 1934 attracted widespread press coverage. His second New York exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery in November–December 1934 and was again a commercial and critical success. Dalí delivered three lectures on Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and other venues during which he told his audience for the first time that "[t]he only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." The heiress Caresse Crosby, the inventor of the brassiere, organized a farewell fancy dress ball for Dalí on 18 January 1935. Dalí wore a glass case on his chest containing a brassiere and Gala dressed as a woman giving birth through her head. A Paris newspaper later claimed that the Dalís had dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper, a claim which Dalí denied.
While the majority of the Surrealist group had become increasingly associated with leftist politics, Dalí maintained an ambiguous position on the subject of the proper relationship between politics and art. Leading Surrealist André Breton accused Dalí of defending the "new" and "irrational" in "the Hitler phenomenon", but Dalí quickly rejected this claim, saying, "I am Hitlerian neither in fact nor intention". Dalí insisted that Surrealism could exist in an apolitical context and refused to explicitly denounce fascism. Later in 1934, Dalí was subjected to a "trial", in which he narrowly avoided being expelled from the Surrealist group. To this, Dalí retorted, "The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist."
In 1936, Dalí took part in the London International Surrealist Exhibition. His lecture, titled , was delivered while wearing a deep-sea diving suit and helmet. He had arrived carrying a billiard cue and leading a pair of Russian wolfhounds and had to have the helmet unscrewed as he gasped for breath. He commented that "I just wanted to show that I was 'plunging deeply into the human mind."
Dalí's first solo London exhibition was held at the Alex, Reid, and Lefevre Gallery the same year. The show included twenty-nine paintings and eighteen drawings. The critical response was generally favorable, although the Daily Telegraph critic wrote: "These pictures from the subconscious reveal so skilled a craftsman that the artist's return to full consciousness may be awaited with interest."
In December 1936 Dalí participated in the Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism exhibition at MoMA and a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Both exhibitions attracted large attendances and widespread press coverage. The painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936) attracted particular attention. Dalí later described it as, "a vast human body breaking out into monstrous excrescences of arms and legs tearing at one another in a delirium of auto-strangulation". On 14 December, Dalí, aged 32, was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
From 1933 Dalí was supported by Zodiac, a group of affluent admirers who each contributed to a monthly stipend for the painter in exchange for a painting of their choice. From 1936 Dalí's main patron in London was the wealthy Edward James who would support him financially for two years. One of Dalí's most important paintings from the period of James' patronage was The Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937). They also collaborated on two of the most enduring icons of the Surrealist movement: the Lobster Telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa.
Dalí was in London when the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936. When he later learned that his friend Lorca had been executed by Nationalist forces, Dalí's claimed response was to shout: "Olé!" Dalí was to include frequent references to the poet in his art and writings for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic for the duration of the conflict.
In January 1938, Dalí unveiled Rainy Taxi, a three-dimensional artwork consisting of an automobile and two mannequin occupants being soaked with rain from within the taxi. The piece was first displayed at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris at the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard. The Exposition was designed by artist Marcel Duchamp, who also served as host.
In March that year, Dalí met Sigmund Freud thanks to Stefan Zweig. As Dalí sketched Freud's portrait, Freud whispered, "That boy looks like a fanatic." Dalí was delighted upon hearing later about this comment from his hero. The following day Freud wrote to Zweig "...until now I have been inclined to regard the Surrealists, who have apparently adopted me as their patron saint, as complete fools.....That young Spaniard, with his candid fanatical eyes and his undeniable technical mastery, has changed my estimate. It would indeed be very interesting to investigate analytically how he came to create that picture [i.e. Metamorphosis of Narcissus]."
In September 1938, Salvador Dalí was invited by Gabrielle Coco Chanel to her house "La Pausa" in Roquebrune on the French Riviera. There he painted numerous paintings he later exhibited at Julien Levy Gallery in New York. This exhibition in March–April 1939 included twenty-one paintings and eleven drawings. Life reported that no exhibition in New York had been so popular since Whistler's Mother was shown in 1934.
At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Dalí debuted his Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion, located in the Amusements Area of the exposition. It featured bizarre sculptures, statues, mermaids, and live nude models in "costumes" made of fresh seafood, an event photographed by Horst P. Horst, George Platt Lynes, and Murray Korman. Dalí was angered by changes to his designs, railing against mediocrities who thought that "a woman with the tail of a fish is possible; a woman with the head of a fish impossible."
Soon after Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939, Dalí wrote to Luis Buñuel denouncing socialism and Marxism and praising Catholicism and the Falange. As a result, Buñuel broke off relations with Dalí.
In the May issue of the Surrealist magazine Minotaure, André Breton announced Dalí's expulsion from the Surrealist group, claiming that Dalí had espoused race war and that the over-refinement of his paranoiac-critical method was a repudiation of Surrealist automatism. This led many Surrealists to break off relations with Dalí. In 1949 Breton coined the derogatory nickname "Avida Dollars" (avid for dollars), an anagram for "Salvador Dalí". This was a derisive reference to the increasing commercialization of Dalí's work, and the perception that Dalí sought self-aggrandizement through fame and fortune.
World War II
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 saw the Dalís in France. Following the German invasion, they were able to escape because on 20 June 1940 they were issued visas by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France. They crossed into Portugal and subsequently sailed on the Excambion from Lisbon to New York in August 1940. Dalí and Gala were to live in the United States for eight years, splitting their time between New York and the Monterey Peninsula, California.
Dalí spent the winter of 1940–41 at Hampton Manor, the residence of Caresse Crosby, in Caroline County, Virginia, where he worked on various projects including his autobiography and paintings for his upcoming exhibition.
Dalí announced the death of the Surrealist movement and the return of classicism in his exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in April–May 1941. The exhibition included nineteen paintings (among them Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire and The Face of War) and other works. In his catalog essay and media comments, Dalí proclaimed a return to form, control, structure and the Golden Section. Sales however were disappointing and the majority of critics did not believe there had been a major change in Dalí's work.
The Museum of Modern Art held two major, simultaneous retrospectives of Dali and Joan Miró from November 1941 to February 1942, Dalí being represented by forty-two paintings and sixteen drawings. Dalí's work attracted significant attention of critics and the exhibition later toured eight American cities, enhancing his reputation in America.
In October 1942, Dalí's autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí was published simultaneously in New York and London and was reviewed widely by the press. Time magazine's reviewer called it "one of the most irresistible books of the year". George Orwell later wrote a scathing review in the Saturday Book. A passage in the autobiography in which Dalí claimed that Buñuel was solely responsible for the anti-clericalism in the film L'Age d'Or may have indirectly led to Buñuel resigning his position at MoMA in 1943 under pressure from the State Department. Dalí also published a novel Hidden Faces in 1944 with less critical and commercial success.
In the catalog essay for his exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery in New York in 1943 Dalí continued his attack on the Surrealist movement, writing: "Surrealism will at least have served to give experimental proof that total sterility and attempts at automatizations have gone too far and have led to a totalitarian system. ... Today's laziness and the total lack of technique have reached their paroxysm in the psychological signification of the current use of the college [collage]". The critical response to the society portraits in the exhibition, however, was generally negative.
In November–December 1945 Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery in New York. The exhibition included eleven oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and illustrations. Works included Basket of Bread, Atomic and Uranian Melancholic Ideal, and My Wife Nude Contemplating her own Body Transformed into Steps, the Three Vertebrae of a Column, Sky and Architecture. The exhibition was notable for works in Dalí's new classicism style and those heralding his "atomic period".
During the war years, Dalí was also engaged in projects in various other fields. He executed designs for a number of ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, and The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944). In 1945 he created the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound. He also produced artwork and designs for products such as perfumes, cosmetics, hosiery and ties.
Post War in United States (1946–48)
In 1946 Dalí worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on an unfinished animated film Destino.
Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery from November 1947 to January 1948. The 14 oil paintings and other works in the exhibition reflected Dalí's increasing interest in atomic physics. Notable works included Dematerialization Near the Nose of Nero (The Separation of the Atom), Intra-Atomic Equilibrium of a Swan's Feather, and a study for Leda Atomica. The proportions of the latter work were worked out in collaboration with a mathematician.
In early 1948 Dalí's 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship was published. The book was a mixture of anecdotes, practical advice on painting, and Dalínian polemics.
Later years in Spain
In 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near Cadaqués. For the next three decades, they would spend most of their time there, spending winters in Paris and New York. Dalí's decision to live in Spain under Franco and his public support for the regime prompted outrage from many anti-Francoist artists and intellectuals. Pablo Picasso refused to mention Dalí's name or acknowledge his existence for the rest of his life. In 1960, André Breton unsuccessfully fought against the inclusion of Dalí's Sistine Madonna in the Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanter's Domain exhibition organized by Marcel Duchamp in New York. Breton and other Surrealists issued a tract to coincide with the exhibition denouncing Dalí as "the ex-apologist of Hitler... and friend of Franco".
In December 1949 Dalí's sister Anna Maria published her book Salvador Dalí Seen by his Sister. Dalí was angered by passages that he considered derogatory towards his wife Gala and broke off relations with his family. When Dalí's father died in September 1950 Dalí learned that he had been virtually disinherited in his will. A two-year legal dispute followed over paintings and drawings Dalí had left in his family home, during which Dalí was accused of assaulting a public notary.
As Dalí moved further towards embracing Catholicism he introduced more religious iconography and themes in his painting. In 1949 he painted a study for The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949) and showed it to Pope Pius XII during an audience arranged to discuss Dalí 's marriage to Gala. This work was a precursor to the phase Dalí dubbed "Nuclear Mysticism," a fusion of Einsteinian physics, classicism, and Catholic mysticism. In paintings such as The Madonna of Port Lligat, The Christ of Saint John on the Cross and The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics. His later Nuclear Mysticism works included La Gare de Perpignan (1965) and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968–70).
Dalí's keen interest in natural science and mathematics was further manifested by the proliferation of images of DNA and rhinoceros horn shapes in works from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. Dalí was also fascinated by the Tesseract (a four-dimensional cube), using it, for example, in Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).
Dalí had been extensively using optical illusions such as double images, anamorphosis, negative space, visual puns and trompe-l'œil since his Surrealist period and this continued in his later work. At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in Port Lligat. He made extensive use of it to study foreshortening, both from above and from below, incorporating dramatic perspectives of figures and objects into his paintings. He also experimented with the bulletist technique pointillism, enlarged half-tone dot grids and stereoscopic images. He was among the first artists to employ holography in an artistic manner. In Dalí's later years, young artists such as Andy Warhol proclaimed him an important influence on pop art.
In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre-Museum in his home town of Figueres. It was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through to 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s.
In 1955 Dalí met Nanita Kalaschnikoff, who was to become a close friend, muse, and model. At a French nightclub in 1965 Dalí met Amanda Lear, a fashion model then known as Peki Oslo. Lear became his protégée and one of his muses. According to Lear, she and Dalí were united in a "spiritual marriage" on a deserted mountaintop.
Final years and death
In 1968, Dalí bought a castle in Púbol for Gala, and from 1971 she would retreat there for weeks at a time, Dalí having agreed not to visit without her written permission. His fears of abandonment and estrangement from his longtime artistic muse contributed to depression and failing health.
In 1980, at age 76, Dalí's health deteriorated sharply and he was treated for depression, drug addiction, and Parkinson-like symptoms, including a severe tremor in his right arm. There were also allegations that Gala had been supplying Dalí with pharmaceuticals from her own prescriptions.
Gala died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 87. After her death, Dalí moved from Figueres to the castle in Púbol, where she was entombed.
In 1982, King Juan Carlos bestowed on Dalí the title of Marqués de Dalí de Púbol (Marquess of Dalí of Púbol) in the nobility of Spain, Púbol being where Dalí then lived. The title was initially hereditary, but at Dalí's request was changed to life-only in 1983.
In May 1983, what was said to be Dalí's last painting, The Swallow's Tail, was revealed. The work was heavily influenced by the mathematical catastrophe theory of René Thom. However, some critics have questioned how Dalí could have executed a painting with such precision given the severe tremor in his painting arm.
From early 1984 Dalí's depression worsened and he refused food, leading to severe undernourishment. Dalí had previously stated his intention to put himself into a state of suspended animation as he had read that some microorganisms could do. In August 1984 a fire broke out in Dalí's bedroom and he was hospitalized with severe burns. Two judicial inquiries found that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and no findings of negligence were made. After his release from hospital Dalí moved to the Torre Galatea, an annex to the Dalí Theatre-Museum.
There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that could later be used in forgeries. It is also alleged that he knowingly sold otherwise-blank lithograph paper which he had signed, possibly producing over 50,000 such sheets from 1965 until his death. As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí.
In July 1986, Dalí had a pacemaker implanted. On his return to his Theatre-Museum he made a brief public appearance, saying:
In November 1988, Dalí entered hospital with heart failure. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí. Dalí gave the king a drawing, Head of Europa, which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing.
On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The location is across the street from the church of Sant Pere, where he had his baptism, first communion, and funeral, and is only from the house where he was born.
The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate. The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the Artists Rights Society.
Exhumation
On 26 June 2017 it was announced that a judge in Madrid had ordered the exhumation of Dalí's body in order to obtain samples for a paternity suit. Joan Manuel Sevillano, manager of the Fundación Gala Salvador Dalí (The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation), denounced the exhumation as inappropriate. The exhumation took place on the evening of 20 July, and his DNA was extracted. On 6 September 2017 the Foundation stated that the tests carried out proved conclusively that Dalí and the claimant were not related. On 18 May 2020 a Spanish court dismissed an appeal from the claimant and ordered her to pay the costs of the exhumation.
Symbolism
From the late 1920s, Dalí progressively introduced many bizarre or incongruous images into his work which invite symbolic interpretation. While some of these images suggest a straightforward sexual or Freudian interpretation (Dalí read Freud in the 1920s) others (such as locusts, rotting donkeys, and sea urchins) are idiosyncratic and have been variously interpreted. Some commentators have cautioned that Dalí's own comments on these images are not always reliable.
Food
Food and eating have a central place in Dalí's thoughts and work. He associated food with beauty and sex and was obsessed with the image of the female praying mantis eating her mate after copulation. Bread was a recurring image in Dalí's art, from his early work The Basket of Bread to later public performances such as in 1958 when he gave a lecture in Paris armed with a 12-meter-long baguette. He saw bread as "the elementary basis of continuity" and "sacred subsistence".
The egg is another common Dalínian image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love. It appears in The Great Masturbator, The Metamorphosis of Narcissus and many other works. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dalí's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres.
Both Dalí and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaqués. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dalí, and he adapted its form to many artworks. Other foods also appear throughout his work.
The famous "melting watches" that appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. Dalí later claimed that the idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to him when he was contemplating Camembert cheese.
Animals
The rhinoceros and rhinoceros horn shapes began to proliferate in Dalí's work from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary. However, he also used it as an obvious phallic symbol as in Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity.
Various other animals appear throughout Dalí's work: rotting donkeys and ants have been interpreted as pointing to death, decay, and sexual desire; the snail as connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts as a symbol of waste and fear. The elephant is also a recurring image in his work; for example, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants are inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk.
Science
Dalí's life-long interest in science and mathematics was often reflected in his work. His soft watches have been interpreted as references to Einstein's theory of the relativity of time and space. Images of atomic particles appeared in his work soon after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and strands of D.N.A. appeared from the mid-1950s. In 1958 he wrote in his Anti-Matter Manifesto: "In the Surrealist period, I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world and the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud. Today, the exterior world and that of physics have transcended the one of psychology. My father today is Dr. Heisenberg."
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954) harks back to The Persistence of Memory (1931) and in portraying that painting in fragmentation and disintegration has been interpreted as a reference to Heisenberg's quantum mechanics.
Endeavors outside painting
Dalí was a versatile artist. Some of his more popular works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theater, fashion, and photography, among other areas.
Sculptures and other objects
From the early 1930s, Dalí was an enthusiastic proponent of the proliferation of three-dimensional Surrealist Objects to subvert perceptions of conventional reality, writing: "museums will fast fill with objects whose uselessness, size and crowding will necessitate the construction, in deserts, of special towers to contain them." His more notable early objects include Board of Demented Associations (1930–31), Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933), Venus de Milo with Chest of Drawers (1936) and Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket (1936). Two of the most popular objects of the Surrealist movement were Lobster Telephone (1936) and Mae West Lips Sofa (1937) which were commissioned by art patron Edward James. Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for Dalí who drew a close analogy between food and sex. The telephone was functional, and James purchased four of them from Dalí to replace the phones in his home. The Mae West Lips Sofa was shaped after the lips of actress Mae West, who was previously the subject of Dalí's watercolor, The Face of Mae West which may be used as a Surrealist Apartment (1934–35). In December 1936 Dalí sent Harpo Marx a Christmas present of a harp with barbed-wire strings.
After World War II Dalí authorized many sculptures derived from his most famous works and images. In his later years other sculptures also appeared, often in large editions, whose authenticity has sometimes been questioned.
Between 1941 and 1970, Dalí created an ensemble of 39 pieces of jewelry, many of which are intricate, some containing moving parts. The most famous assemblage, The Royal Heart, is made of gold and is encrusted with 46 rubies, 42 diamonds, and four emeralds, created in such a way that the center "beats" like a heart.
Dalí ventured into industrial design in the 1970s with a 500-piece run of Suomi tableware by Timo Sarpaneva that Dalí decorated for the German Rosenthal porcelain maker's "Studio Linie". In 1969 he designed the Chupa Chups logo. He facilitated the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and created a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Theater and film
In theater, Dalí designed the scenery for Federico García Lorca's 1927 romantic play Mariana Pineda. For Bacchanale (1939), a ballet based on and set to the music of Richard Wagner's 1845 opera Tannhäuser, Dalí provided both the set design and the libretto. He executed designs for a number of other ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944) and The Three-Cornered Hat (1949).
Dalí became interested in film when he was young, going to the theater most Sundays. By the late 1920s he was fascinated by the potential of film to reveal "the unlimited fantasy born of things themselves" and went on to collaborate with the director Luis Buñuel on two Surrealist films: the 17-minute short Un Chien Andalou (1929) and the feature film L'Age d'Or (1930). Dalí and Buñuel agree that they jointly developed the script and imagery of Un Chien Andalou, but there is controversy over the extent of Dalí's contribution to L'Age d'Or. Un Chien Andalou features a graphic opening scene of a human eyeball being slashed with a razor and develops surreal imagery and irrational discontinuities in time and space to produce a dreamlike quality. L'Age d'Or is more overtly anti-clerical and anti-establishment, and was banned after right-wing groups staged a riot in the Parisian theater where it was being shown. Summarizing the impact of these two films on the Surrealist film movement, one commentator has stated: "If Un Chien Andalou stands as the supreme record of Surrealism's adventures into the realm of the unconscious, then L'Âge d'Or is perhaps the most trenchant and implacable expression of its revolutionary intent."
After he collaborated with Buñuel, Dalí worked on several unrealized film projects including a published script for a film, Babaouo (1932); a scenario for Harpo Marx called Giraffes on Horseback Salad (1937); and an abandoned dream sequence for the film Moontide (1942). In 1945 Dalí created the dream sequence in Hitchcock's Spellbound, but neither Dalí nor the director was satisfied with the result. Dalí also worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on the short film Destino in 1946. After initially being abandoned, the animated film was completed in 2003 by Baker Bloodworth and Walt Disney's nephew Roy E. Disney. Between 1954 and 1961 Dalí worked with photographer Robert Descharnes on The Prodigious History of the Lacemaker and the Rhinoceros, but the film was never completed.
In the 1960s Dalí worked with some directors on documentary and performance films including with Philippe Halsman on Chaos and Creation (1960), Jack Bond on Dalí in New York (1966) and Jean-Christophe Averty on Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dalí (1966).
Dalí collaborated with director José-Montes Baquer on the pseudo-documentary film Impressions of Upper Mongolia (1975), in which Dalí narrates a story about an expedition in search of giant hallucinogenic mushrooms. In the mid-1970s film director Alejandro Jodorowsky initially cast Dalí in the role of the Padishah Emperor in a production of Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. However, Jodorowsky changed his mind after Dalí publicly supported the execution of alleged ETA terrorists in December 1975. The film was ultimately never made.
In 1972 Dalí began to write the scenario for an opera-poem called Être Dieu (To Be God). The Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán wrote the libretto and Igor Wakhévitch the music. The opera poem was recorded in Paris in 1974 with Dalí in the role of the protagonist.
Fashion and photography
Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli worked with Dalí from the 1930s and commissioned him to produce a white dress with a lobster print. Other designs Dalí made for her include a shoe-shaped hat and a pink belt with lips for a buckle. He was also involved in creating textile designs and perfume bottles. In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.
Photographers with whom he collaborated include Man Ray, Brassaï, Cecil Beaton, and Philippe Halsman. Halsman produced the Dalí Atomica series (1948) – inspired by Dalí's painting Leda Atomica – which in one photograph depicts "a painter's easel, three cats, a bucket of water, and Dalí himself floating in the air".
Architecture
Dalí's architectural achievements include his Port Lligat house near Cadaqués, as well as his Theatre Museum in Figueres. A major work outside of Spain was the temporary Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which contained several unusual sculptures and statues, including live performers posing as statues.
Literary works
In his only novel, Hidden Faces (1944), Dalí describes the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolizes the decadence of the 1930s. The Comte de Grandsailles and Solange de Cléda pursue a love affair, but interwar political turmoil and other vicissitudes drive them apart. It is variously set in Paris, rural France, Casablanca in North Africa, and Palm Springs in the United States. Secondary characters include aging widow Barbara Rogers, her bisexual daughter Veronica, Veronica's sometime female lover Betka, and Baba, a disfigured U.S. fighter pilot. The novel was written in New York, and translated by Haakon Chevalier.
His other literary works include The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942), Diary of a Genius (1966), and Oui: The Paranoid-Critical Revolution (1971). Dalí also published poetry, essays, art criticism, and a technical manual on art.
Graphic arts
Dalí worked extensively in the graphic arts, producing many drawings, etchings, and lithographs. Among the most notable of these works are forty etchings for an edition of Lautréamont's The Songs of Maldoror (1933) and eighty drypoint reworkings of Goya's Caprichos (1973–77). From the 1960s, however, Dalí would often sell the rights to images but not be involved in the print production itself. In addition, a large number of fakes were produced in the 1980s and 1990s, thus further confusing the Dalí print market.
Book illustrations were an important part of Dalí's work throughout his career. His first book illustration was for the 1924 publication of the Catalan poem ("The Witches of Liers") by his friend and schoolmate, poet Carles Fages de Climent. His other notable book illustrations, apart from The Songs of Maldoror, include 101 watercolors and engravings for The Divine Comedy (1960) and 100 drawings and watercolors for The Arabian Nights (1964).
Politics and personality
Politics and religion
As a youth, Dalí identified as Communist, anti-monarchist and anti-clerical and in 1924 he was briefly imprisoned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship as a person "intensely liable to cause public disorder". When Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in 1929 his political activism initially intensified. In 1931, he became involved in the Workers' and Peasants' Front, delivering lectures at meetings and contributing to their party journal. However, as political divisions within the Surrealist group grew, Dalí soon developed a more apolitical stance, refusing to publicly denounce fascism. In 1934, Andre Breton accused him of being sympathetic to Hitler and Dalí narrowly avoided being expelled from the group. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic. However, immediately after Franco's victory in 1939, Dalí praised Catholicism and the Falange and was expelled from the Surrealist group.
After Dalí's return to his native Catalonia in 1948, he publicly supported Franco's regime and announced his return to the Catholic faith. Dalí was granted an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1949 and with Pope John XXIII in 1959. He had official meetings with General Franco in June 1956, October 1968, and May 1974. In 1968, Dalí stated that on Franco's death there should be no return to democracy and Spain should become an absolute monarchy. In September 1975, Dalí publicly supported Franco's decision to execute three alleged Basque terrorists and repeated his support for an absolute monarchy, adding: "Personally, I'm against freedom; I'm for the Holy Inquisition." In the following days, he fled to New York after his home in Port Lligat was stoned and he had received numerous death threats. When King Juan Carlos visited the ailing Dalí in August 1981, Dalí told him: "I have always been an anarchist and a monarchist."
Dalí espoused a mystical view of Catholicism and in his later years he claimed to be a Catholic and an agnostic. He was interested in the writings of the Jesuit priest and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin and his Omega Point theory. Dalí's painting Tuna Fishing (Homage to Meissonier) (1967) was inspired by his reading of Chardin.
Sexuality
Dalí's sexuality had a profound influence on his work. He stated that as a child he saw a book with graphic illustrations of venereal diseases and this provoked a life-long disgust of female genitalia and a fear of impotence and sexual intimacy. Dalí frequently stated that his main sexual activity involved voyeurism and masturbation and his preferred sexual orifice was the anus. Dalí said that his wife Gala was the only person with whom he had achieved complete coitus. From 1927 Dalí's work featured graphic and symbolic sexual images usually associated with other images evoking shame and disgust. Images of anality and excrement also abound in his work from this time. Some of the most notable works reflecting these themes include The First Days of Spring (1929), The Great Masturbator (1929), and The Lugubrious Game (1929). Several of Dalí's intimates in the 1960s and 1970s have stated that he would arrange for selected guests to perform choreographed sexual activities to aid his voyeurism and masturbation.
Personality
Dalí was renowned for his eccentric and ostentatious behavior throughout his career. In 1941, the Director of Exhibitions and Publications at MoMA wrote: "The fame of Salvador Dalí has been an issue of particular controversy for more than a decade...Dalí's conduct may have been undignified, but the greater part of his art is a matter of dead earnest." When Dalí was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 1979, one of his fellow academicians stated that he hoped Dalí would now abandon his "clowneries".
In 1936, at the premiere screening of Joseph Cornell's film Rose Hobart at Julien Levy's gallery in New York City, Dalí knocked over the projector in a rage. "My idea for a film is exactly that," he said shortly afterward, "I never wrote it down or told anyone, but it is as if he had stolen it!" In 1939, while working on a window display for Bonwit Teller, he became so enraged by unauthorized changes to his work that he pushed a display bathtub through a plate glass window. In 1955, he delivered a lecture at the Sorbonne, arriving in a Rolls Royce full of cauliflowers. To promote Robert Descharnes' 1962 book The World of Salvador Dalí, he appeared in a Manhattan bookstore on a bed, wired up to a machine that traced his brain waves and blood pressure. He would autograph books while thus monitored, and the book buyer would also be given the paper chart recording.
After World War II, Dalí became one of the most recognized artists in the world, and his long cape, walking stick, haughty expression, and upturned waxed mustache became icons of his brand. His boastfulness and public declarations of his genius became essential elements of the public Dalí persona: "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí".
Dalí frequently traveled with his pet ocelot Babou, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner SS France. He was also known to avoid paying at restaurants by executing drawings on the checks he wrote. His theory was the restaurant would never want to cash such a valuable piece of art, and he was usually correct.
Dalí's fame meant he was a frequent guest on television in Spain, France and the United States, including appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on 7 January 1963 The Mike Wallace Interview and the panel show What's My Line?. Dalí appeared on The Dick Cavett Show on 6 March 1970 carrying an anteater.
He also appeared in numerous advertising campaigns such for chocolates and Braniff International Airlines in 1968.
Legacy
Two major museums are devoted to Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Dalí's life and work have been an important influence on pop art, other Surrealists, and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. He has been portrayed on film by Robert Pattinson in Little Ashes (2008), and by Adrien Brody in Midnight in Paris (2011). The Salvador Dalí Desert in Bolivia and the Dalí crater on the planet Mercury are named for him.
The Spanish television series Money Heist (2017–2021) includes characters wearing a costume of red jumpsuits and Dalí masks. The creator of the series stated that the Dalí mask was chosen because it was an iconic Spanish image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation protested against the use of Dalí's image without the authorisation of the Dali estate. Following the popular success of the series, there were reports of people in various countries wearing the costume while participating in political protests, committing crimes or as fancy dress.
Honors
1964: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
1972: Associate member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
1978: Associate member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France
1981: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
1982: Created 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, by King Juan Carlos
List of selected works
Dalí produced over 1,600 paintings and numerous graphic works, sculptures, three-dimensional objects, and designs. Below is a sample of important and representative works.
Landscape Near Figueras (1910–14)
Vilabertran (1910–14)
Cabaret Scene (1922)
Night Walking Dreams (1922)
The Basket of Bread (1926)
Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) (1927)
Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927)
Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) (1929) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
The Lugubrious Game (1929)
The Great Masturbator (1929)
The First Days of Spring (1929)
L'Age d'Or (The Golden Age) (1930) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
Board of Demented Associations (1930–31) (Surrealist object)
Premature Ossification of a Railway Station (1931)
The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933) (mixed media sculpture collage)
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (c.1934)
Lobster Telephone (1936)
Venus de Milo with Drawers (1936)
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936)
Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937)
Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937)
The Burning Giraffe (1937)
Mae West Lips Sofa (1937)
Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach (1938)
Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time (1939)
Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire (1940)
The Face of War (also known as The Visage of the War) (1940)
Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man (1943)
Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (c.1944)
Basket of Bread – Rather Death than Shame (1945)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946)
The Elephants (1948) (also known as Project for "As You Like It")
Leda Atomica (1947–1949)
The Madonna of Port Lligat (1949)
Christ of Saint John of the Cross (also known as The Christ) (1951)
Galatea of the Spheres (1952) (also known as Gala Placidia)
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1952–54)
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) (c.1954) (also known as Hypercubic Christ)
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity (1954)
The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955)
Still Life Moving Fast (c. 1956) (also known as Fast-Moving Still Life)
The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (1958)
Perpignan Railway Station (c. 1965)
Tuna Fishing (1966–67)
The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1970)
Nieuw Amsterdam (1974 object/sculpture)
The Swallow's Tail (c.1983)
Dalí museums and permanent exhibitions
Dalí Theatre-Museum – Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, holds the largest collection of Dalí's work
Gala Dalí House-Museum – Castle of Púbol in Púbol, Catalonia, Spain
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum) – Madrid, Spain, holds a significant collection
Salvador Dalí House Museum – Port Lligat, Catalonia, Spain
Salvador Dalí Museum – St Petersburg, Florida, contains the collection of Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, and over 1500 works by Dalí, including seven large "masterworks"
Major temporary exhibitions
In 2018, a traveling museum exhibition focusing on Dalí's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy premiered at the Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana. The exhibition titled Salvador Dalí's Stairway to Heaven will be touring the United States through 2021.
Gallery
See also
List of Spanish artists
Salvador Dalí and Dance
References
Further reading
Important books by or about Salvador Dalí readily available in English include:
Ades, Dawn, Salvador Dalí, Thames and Hudson, 1995 (2nd ed.)
Dalí, Salvador, Oui: the paranoid-critical revolution: writings 1927–1933, (edited by Robert Descharnes, translated by Yvonne Shafir), Boston: Exact Change, 1998
Dalí, Salvador, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, New York, Dover, 1993 (translated by Haakon M. Chevalier, first published 1942)
Dalí, Salvador, The Diary of a Genius, London, Hutchinson, 1990 (translated by Richard Howard, first published 1964)
Dalí, Salvador, The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dalí, London, Quartet Books, 1977 (first published 1973)
Descharnes, Robert, Salvador Dalí (translated by Eleanor R. Morse), New York, Abradale Press, 1993
Gibson, Ian, The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí, London, Faber and Faber, 1997
Shanes, Eric, Salvador Dalí, Parkstone International, 2014
External links
Salvador Dalí on What's My Line?
Interview and bank advertisement.
A collection of interviews and footage of Dalí in the French television
Mike Wallace interviews Salvador Dalí Archived 15 December 2015. Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin
Panorama: Salvador Dali - Malcolm Muggeridge BBC interview, first transmitted 4 May 1955
Salvador Dalí at LletrA, Catalan Literature Online (Open University of Catalonia).
1904 births
1989 deaths
People from Figueres
Spanish artists
20th-century Spanish painters
Spanish male painters
Surrealist artists
Painters from Catalonia
Spanish illustrators
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Marquesses of Spain
Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium
Modern painters
Spanish printmakers
Spanish erotic artists
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish surrealist artists
Surrealist filmmakers
20th-century Spanish sculptors
20th-century male artists
Spanish male sculptors
Mathematical artists
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Federico García Lorca
1939 New York World's Fair artists
Spanish people of Arab descent
Spanish people of Jewish descent
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"An elephant joke is a joke cycle, almost always an absurd riddle or conundrum and often a sequence of such, that involves an elephant. Elephant jokes were a fad in the 1960s, with many people constructing large numbers of them according to a set formula. Sometimes they involve parodies or puns.\n\nExamples of elephant jokes are:\nQ: Why did the elephant paint its toenails red?\nA: So it could hide in a cherry tree.\n\nQ: How can you tell that an elephant is in the bathtub with you?\nA: By the smell of peanuts on its breath.\n\nQ: Why does an elephant have round flat feet?\nA: So that it can walk across lily pads.\n\nHistory\nIn 1960, L.M. Becker Co of Appleton, Wisconsin, released a set of 50 trading cards titled \"Elephant Jokes\". They were recorded in mid-1962 in Texas, and gradually spread across the US, reaching California in early 1963. By July 1963, elephant jokes were ubiquitous and could be found in newspaper columns, and in Time and Seventeen magazines, with millions of people working to construct more jokes according to the same formula.\n\nBoth elephant jokes and Tom Swifties were in vogue in 1963, and were reported in the US national press. While Tom Swifties were marketed to literate adults and gradually fell out of fashion over subsequent decades, elephant jokes have lasted among younger audiences, circulating through generations of schoolchildren.\n\nProlific science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was of the opinion that these jokes are \"favorites of youngsters and of unsophisticated adults\". However, he finds one joke uncharacteristically sophisticated enough to include in his book of favorite jokes. The joke was told in the aftermath of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby, who had walked into Dallas police headquarters carrying a gun:\nQ: What did the Dallas chief of police say when the elephant walked into the police station?\nA: Nothing! He didn't notice.\n\nStructure \nElephant jokes rely upon absurdity and incongruity for their humor, and a contrast with the normal presumptions of knowledge about elephants. They rely upon absurdist reasoning such as that it would be the relatively incidental evidence regarding the smell of an elephant's breath or the presence of footprints in the butter that would allow for the detection of an elephant in one's bathtub or refrigerator. One key to the construction of an elephant joke is that the joke answers are somewhat appropriate if one merely overlooks the obvious absurdities inherent to the questions. If elephants were capable of climbing trees and if painting an elephant's toenails was an effective camouflage mechanism, then red would be the appropriate color for a cherry tree. If the common connotation that questions requesting the time are expected to be answered in terms of hours and minutes is ignored, then by the implied destruction of one's fence from being sat on by an elephant, it would be time to build a new fence. The appropriateness of the answer, when accounting for the absurd incongruences existing between the implied premise of the question and the normal assumptions said question invokes, distinguishes elephant jokes as jokes rather than nonsensical riddles.\n\nAs a riddle \nElephant jokes are often parodies of conventional children's riddles. Consider the following commonly recited child's riddle:\nQ: What is black and white and red all over?\nA: A newspaper.\nTraditionally the challenge of solving this riddle relies on recognizing the ambiguity stemming from the riddle being generally shared aloud as opposed to in writing. Thus the appropriate homophone, \"red\" or \"read\", must be inferred. If \"red\" is assumed, then the problem arises regarding whether or not any object satisfying the condition of being \"red all over\" would necessarily preclude said object from also satisfying the requirement of being \"black and white\". However, if instead \"read\" is assumed, then there is no implied mutual exclusivity preventing a solution, conventionally a newspaper, from satisfying both required conditions. Compare the traditional riddle, which is solved by a well-known item that can be reasonably determined from the riddle, with the elephant joke parody:\nQ: What is black and white and red all over?\nA: An elephant dressed as a nun suffering from sunburn.\nThe absurdity of an elephant wearing a nun costume makes it nearly impossible for anyone not familiar with the punchline to independently think of the parody answer. Ignoring how unlikely one is to ever encounter an elephant dressed as a nun, then the answer is somewhat appropriate. A nun costume would likely be both \"black and white\" and a sunburn would cause an elephant to be, somewhat, \"red all over\". Humor arises from the irony of ignoring the expected answer for the outlandish, yet appropriate, elephant answer.\n\nA turnabout to the \"Blind men and an elephant\" parable is a joke about four blind elephants who feel a human. The first reports that humans are flat, and the other three agree.\n\nSeries of elephant jokes \nA series of elephant jokes can be constructed. Linking the appropriateness of each subsequent answer to the logically absurd structure of the preceding joke, the overall absurdity of a series can continuously compound. For example:\nQ: How do you shoot a blue elephant?\nA: With a blue elephant gun.\nQ: How do you shoot a yellow elephant?\nA: Have you ever seen a yellow elephant?\nQ: How do you shoot a red elephant?\nA: Hold his trunk shut until he turns blue, and then shoot him with the blue elephant gun.\nQ: How do you shoot a purple elephant?\nA: Paint him red, hold his trunk shut until he turns blue, and then shoot him with the blue elephant gun.\n\nThe absurdity of the first riddle's answer subverts the audience's initial expectations. The second and third riddles reinforce the expectation for this logically absurd structure. The final riddle concludes by again absurdly subverting the audience's expected framework. The humor for independent elephant jokes relies on absurd answers that ignore expectations, yet have a certain appropriateness. Here the absurdity is compounded when the appropriateness of the final riddle's answer is dependent upon undermining the logically absurd structure built from the preceding riddles.\n\nOne short example involves a displacement of a concept from one animal's features to those of an elephant, in terms of function:\nQ: Why do ducks have flat feet?\nA: To stamp out burning fires.\nQ: Why do elephants have flat feet?\nA: To stamp out burning ducks.\n\nIn another example:\nQ: How many elephants will fit into a Mini?\nA: Four: Two in the front, two in the back.\nQ: How can you fit five elephants into a Mini?\nA: Don't be silly; there isn't room for five elephants in a Mini.\nQ: Well, can you fit five elephants into a Volkswagen Beetle?\nA: Sure: Two in front, two in the back, one in the glove box, and pack the trunks in the boot (British English for \"trunk\").\nQ: How many giraffes will fit into a Mini?\nA: None. It's full of elephants.\nQ: How do you get two whales in a Mini?\nA: Along the M4 and across the Severn Bridge.\nQ: How do you know there is an elephant in your refrigerator?\nA: There are footprints in the butter.\nQ: How do you know there are two elephants in your refrigerator?\nA: You can hear giggling when you close the door.\nQ: How do you know there are three elephants in your refrigerator?\nA: You can't close the door.\nQ: How do you know there are four elephants in your refrigerator?\nA: There's an empty Mini parked outside.\n\nElephant jokes thus not only deliberately undermine the conventions of riddles, they even act to undermine themselves. This even extends to undermining the implied premise, expected by those that are familiar with elephant jokes, that an elephant joke is automatically illogical, or even involves elephants at all. For example:\nQ: What do elephants have that nothing else has?\nA: Baby elephants.\nQ: What is gray, has four legs, and a trunk?\nA: A mouse going on vacation.\nQ: What is brown, has four legs, and a trunk?\nA: A mouse coming back from vacation.\nQ: What has eight legs, two trunks, four eyes, and two tails?\nA: Two elephants.\n\nThere can even be an off-color tinge:\nQ: Why is an elephant big, grey and wrinkly?\nA: Because if it were small, white and smooth it would be an aspirin.\nQ: Why are golf balls small and white?\nA: Because if they were big and grey they would be elephants.\nOne time Gong Show act Mike Elephant is remembered for the following joke:\nQ: What's the difference between an elephant and a plum?\nA: Their color.\nQ: What did Tarzan say to Jane when he saw the elephants coming?\nA: \"Here come the elephants.\"\nQ: What did Jane say to Tarzan when she saw the elephants coming?\nA: \"Here come the plums.\" She was color-blind.\n\nSome may be regional:\nQ: How do you get a herd of Addo elephants out of your bedroom?\nA: Sit outside and scream like an orange. (In the early days of the park, surplus oranges were used to tempt Addo elephants to viewing sites for tourists.)\n\nElephant jokes can also use their inherent absurdity to point up the inherent absurdity in some current events. One such joke from the early 1960s refers to an incident in President Kennedy's on-again-off-again support for Cuban exiles' attempts to overthrow Fidel Castro:\n\nQ: How do you get 2,000 elephants to invade Cuba?\nA: Promise them air support!\n\nSymbolism\nElephant jokes are seen by many commentators as symbolic of the culture of the United States and the United Kingdom in the 1960s. Elliott Oring notes that elephant jokes dismiss conventional questions and answers, repudiate established wisdom, and reject the authority of traditional knowledge. He draws a parallel between this and the counterculture of the 1960s, stating that \"disestablishment was the purpose of both,\" pointing to the sexual revolution and noting that \"[p]erhaps it was no accident that many of the elephant jokes emphasized the intrusion of sex into the most innocuous areas.\"\n\nIn their paper, On elephantasy and elephanticide, Abrahams and Dundes consider elephant jokes to be convenient disguises for racism, and symbolised the nervousness of white people about the civil rights movement. Whilst blatantly racialist jokes became less acceptable, elephant jokes were a useful proxy. One example Abrahams and Dundes provide is the joke:\nQ: What is big and grey and comes in quarts?\nA: An elephant.\nThey state that the \"big and grey and comes in quarts\" is in fact a reference \"to the supposed mammoth nature of black sexuality.\" Similarly, the joke about an elephant in the bathtub is argued to be a reference to the increased intrusion of black people into \"the most intimate areas of white life.\"\n\nOring strongly disagrees with this view, writing: \"The Civil Rights movement, of course, was an integral part of the countercultural revolution. But there is no reason to view it as the single force conditioning the joke cycle. Much more than the relations between the races was being turned on its ear. Reducing elephant jokes to a mere front for racial aggression, it seems to me, not only misses the larger sense of what the jokes are about, but the larger sense of what was going on in the society at the time.\" and continuing: \"Elephant joking is more than a description of the episodic career of an animal with a phallic nose. What engenders the humor in such jokes is the violation of categories of expectation, and not images of subjugation, degradation, or feminization of the elephant.\"\n\nCharles Gruner agrees with Oring that Abrahams' and Dundes' explanation (that \"the elephant is an ambivalent father figure\" that is, in reality, \"the black man (perceived as a sexual threat) that stands hidden behind the image of the elephant\") is an \"explanation from Freudian Monsterland [that] holds no water.\"\n\nGruner however disagrees with Oring about the chronological topicality of the elephant joke and its relation to social upheavals, arguing from personal experience of \"one of the best motion picture sight gags in history\", where Jimmy Durante in the 1962 movie Billy Rose's Jumbo is attempting to sneak an elephant unseen through a circus. Upon coming around a tent and being faced with a crowd of people and a policeman who demands \"Where do you think you are you going with that elephant?\" Durante backs against the elephant, arms wide, and asks, innocently, \"What elephant?\" Gunder proposes that the success of this sight gag spawned in comic writers the idea of \"hiding the elephant by all sorts of ridiculous means,\" and thus, by extension to \"other silly, stupid comparisons\", the whole genre of elephant jokes.\n\nSee also\n\nReferences\n\nNotes\n\nSpecific\n\nGeneral\n\nFurther reading\n\n Elephant hunting theory\n\nElephants\nRiddles\nJoke cycles\n1960s fads and trends",
"The Syrian elephant or Western Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus asurus) was the westernmost population of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which became extinct in ancient times. Skeletal remains of E. m. asurus have been recorded from the Middle East: Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey from periods dating between at least 1800 BC and likely 700 BC. Due to the lack of any Late Pleistocene or early to mid Holocene record for Asian elephants in the region, there are suggestions that the elephants were anthropogenically introduced into the region during the Bronze Age, though this is disputed.\n\nAncient Syrian craftsmen used the tusks of E. m. asurus to make ivory carvings. In Syria, the production of ivory items was at its maximum during the first millennium BC, when the Arameans made splendid ivory inlay for furniture.\n\nDescription\nSyrian elephants were among the largest Asian elephant subspecies to have survived into historic times, measuring or more at the shoulder; on par with the largest reported Indian elephants. Skeletal remains show it did not differ much from the Indian subspecies, except in size. A study of mitochondrial DNA from 3500 year old remains from Gavur Lake Swamp southwest of Kahramanmaraş in Turkey, which represent an apparently wild population, found that they were within extant genetic variation and belonged to the β1 subclade of the major β clade of Asian elephants, β1 being the predominant clade among Indian elephants. They carried an extremely rare mitochondrial haplotype only previously found in a single modern elephant in Thailand, the origin of the haplotype was placed between 3,700–58,700 years ago with a mean estimate of 23,500 years ago, suggesting that the population did not descend from Middle Pleistocene Elephas fossils known from the region and if it was natural it must have arrived in the region as an expansion from the core range of the Asian elephant during the Late Pleistocene or Holocene. The data was inconclusive as to whether the population had a natural or anthropogenic origin.\n\nDistribution and habitat\n\nIn Western Asia, the elephants ranged from the mangrove forests of southern Iran, to southern Anatolia, the Syrian steppes and even extended to Israel. Ashurnasirpal II boasted of killing elephants, along with wild oxen and lions.\n\nControversy\nNo remains of the Elephas genus are known from the Middle East after 200,000 years ago until 3,500 years ago. This long hiatus makes some scholars suspect that the Asian elephants were artificial introductions to the Middle East, possibly from India, though this is difficult to prove. The extinction date is suggested to be around 700 BC, based on osteoarchaeological and historical evidence. This was possibly due to climactic shifts and changing land use during the early Iron Age\n\nSyrian elephants are frequently mentioned in Hellenistic history; the Seleucid kings, who maintained numerous war elephants, reigned in Syria during that period. These elephants are believed to be Indian elephants (E. m. indicus), which had been acquired by the Seleucid kings during their eastern expansions; or they are believed to be a population of Indian elephants in the Middle East. It is attested by ancient sources such as Strabo and Polybius that Seleucid kings Seleucus I Nicator and Antiochus III the Great had large numbers of imported Indian elephants. Whether these \"Indian elephants\" were imported due to scarcity of native Syrian elephants, or due to their accomplished training and domestication as war elephants remains unclear.\n\nHannibal had a war elephant known as \"Surus\"; it has been suggested to mean \"the Syrian\". It was said by Cato to have been his best and largest elephant. In that case, the elephant may have been of Seleucid stock. If it were in fact of native Syrian stock, or an imported Indian elephant, remains subject to speculation.\n\nSee also\nNorth African elephant, a subspecies of African elephant that became extinct around the 2nd century BC.\nPersian war elephants\n\nNotes\n\nExternal links\nElephants and the Nabataeans\nAncient Mosaic depicting Syrian Elephant fighting Asiatic lions\n Image of the skeleton of Syrian Elephant found at Kahramanmaraş in southern Anatolia, Turkey\n Syrian elephant Carving, calcite-alabaster, Syria, ca. 3rd Millennium B.C.\n\nElephants\nElephant, Syrian\nHolocene extinctions\nSpecies made extinct by human activities"
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"Salvador Dalí",
"Symbolism",
"What type of symbolism did Dali use?",
"The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works.",
"What did the elephant mean?",
"\"The elephant is a distortion in space\", one analysis explains, \"its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure."
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Did Dali use any other forms of symbolism?
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Besides the elephant, did Salvador Dalí use any other forms of symbolism?
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Salvador Dalí
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Dali employed extensive symbolism in his work. For instance, the hallmark "melting watches" that first appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. The idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to Dali when he was staring at a runny piece of Camembert cheese on a hot August day. The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works. It appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants, inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk, are portrayed "with long, multijointed, almost invisible legs of desire" along with obelisks on their backs. Coupled with the image of their brittle legs, these encumbrances, noted for their phallic overtones, create a sense of phantom reality. "The elephant is a distortion in space", one analysis explains, "its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure." "I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly." --Salvador Dali, in Dawn Ades, Dali and Surrealism. The egg is another common Daliesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love; it appears in The Great Masturbator and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus. The Metamorphosis of Narcissus also symbolized death and petrification. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dali's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres. Various other animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire; the snail is connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear. Both Dali and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaques. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dali, and he adapted its form to many art works. Other foods also appear throughout his work. CANNOTANSWER
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The egg is another common Daliesque image.
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Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.
Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments.
Dalí's artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Biography
Early life
Salvador Dalí was born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am, on the first floor of Carrer Monturiol, 20 in the town of Figueres, in the Empordà region, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain. Dalí's older brother, who had also been named Salvador (born 12 October 1901), had died of gastroenteritis nine months earlier, on 1 August 1903. His father, Salvador Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí (1872–1950) was a middle-class lawyer and notary, an anti-clerical atheist and Catalan federalist, whose strict disciplinary approach was tempered by his wife, Felipa Domènech Ferrés (1874–1921), who encouraged her son's artistic endeavors. In the summer of 1912, the family moved to the top floor of Carrer Monturiol 24 (presently 10). Dalí later attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes" to an "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descendants of the Moors.
Dalí was haunted by the idea of his dead brother throughout his life, mythologizing him in his writings and art. Dalí said of him, "[we] resembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections." He "was probably the first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute". Images of his brother would reappear in his later works, including Portrait of My Dead Brother (1963).
Dalí also had a sister, Anna Maria, who was three years younger. In 1949, she published a book about her brother, Dalí as Seen by His Sister.
His childhood friends included future FC Barcelona footballers Emili Sagi-Barba and Josep Samitier. During holidays at the Catalan resort town of Cadaqués, the trio played football together.
Dalí attended the Municipal Drawing School at Figueres in 1916 and also discovered modern painting on a summer vacation trip to Cadaqués with the family of Ramon Pichot, a local artist who made regular trips to Paris. The next year, Dalí's father organized an exhibition of his charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre in Figueres in 1918, a site he would return to decades later. In early 1921 the Pichot family introduced Dalí to Futurism and Dalí's uncle Anselm Domènech, who owned a bookshop in Barcelona, supplied him with books and magazines on Cubism and contemporary art.
On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer. Dalí was 16 years old and later said his mother's death "was the greatest blow I had experienced in my life. I worshipped her... I could not resign myself to the loss of a being on whom I counted to make invisible the unavoidable blemishes of my soul." After his wife's death, Dalí's father married her sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt.
Madrid, Barcelona and Paris
In 1922, Dalí moved into the Residencia de Estudiantes (Students' Residence) in Madrid and studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts). A lean tall, Dalí already drew attention as an eccentric and dandy. He had long hair and sideburns, coat, stockings, and knee-breeches in the style of English aesthetes of the late 19th century.
At the Residencia, he became close friends with Pepín Bello, Luis Buñuel, Federico García Lorca, and others associated with the Madrid avant-garde group Ultra. The friendship with Lorca had a strong element of mutual passion, but Dalí said he rejected the poet's sexual advances. Dalí's friendship with Lorca was to remain one of his most emotionally intense relationships until the poet's death at the hands of Nationalist forces in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
Also in 1922, he began what would become a lifelong relationship with the Prado Museum, which he felt was, 'incontestably the best museum of old paintings in the world.' Each Sunday morning, Dalí went to the Prado to study the works of the great masters. 'This was the start of a monk-like period for me, devoted entirely to solitary work: visits to the Prado, where, pencil in hand, I analyzed all of the great masterpieces, studio work, models, research.'
Dalí's paintings in which he experimented with Cubism earned him the most attention from his fellow students since there were no Cubist artists in Madrid at the time. Cabaret Scene (1922) is a typical example of such work. Through his association with members of the Ultra group, Dalí became more acquainted with avant-garde movements, including Dada and Futurism. One of his earliest works to show a strong Futurist and Cubist influence was the watercolor Night-Walking Dreams (1922). At this time, Dalí also read Freud and Lautréamont who were to have a profound influence on his work.
In May 1925 Dalí exhibited eleven works in a group exhibition held by the newly formed Sociedad Ibérica de Artistas in Madrid. Seven of the works were in his Cubist mode and four in a more realist style. Several leading critics praised Dalí's work. Dalí held his first solo exhibition at Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona, from 14 to 27 November 1925. This exhibition, before his exposure to Surrealism, included twenty-two works and was a critical and commercial success.
In April 1926 Dalí made his first trip to Paris where he met Pablo Picasso, whom he revered. Picasso had already heard favorable reports about Dalí from Joan Miró, a fellow Catalan who later introduced him to many Surrealist friends. As he developed his own style over the next few years, Dalí made some works strongly influenced by Picasso and Miró. Dalí was also influenced by the work of Yves Tanguy, and he later allegedly told Tanguy's niece, "I pinched everything from your uncle Yves."
Dalí left the Royal Academy in 1926, shortly before his final exams. His mastery of painting skills at that time was evidenced by his realistic The Basket of Bread, painted in 1926.
Later that year he exhibited again at Galeries Dalmau, from 31 December 1926 to 14 January 1927, with the support of the art critic . The show included twenty-three paintings and seven drawings, with the "Cubist" works displayed in a separate section from the "objective" works. The critical response was generally positive with Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) singled out for particular attention.
From 1927 Dalí's work became increasingly influenced by Surrealism. Two of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927) and Gadget and Hand (1927), were shown at the annual Autumn Salon (Saló de tardor) in Barcelona in October 1927. Dalí described the earlier of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood, as "equidistant between Cubism and Surrealism". The works featured many elements that were to become characteristic of his Surrealist period including dreamlike images, precise draftsmanship, idiosyncratic iconography (such as rotting donkeys and dismembered bodies), and lighting and landscapes strongly evocative of his native Catalonia. The works provoked bemusement among the public and debate among critics about whether Dalí had become a Surrealist.
Influenced by his reading of Freud, Dalí increasingly introduced suggestive sexual imagery and symbolism into his work. He submitted Dialogue on the Beach (Unsatisfied Desires) (1928) to the Barcelona Autumn Salon for 1928 but the work was rejected because "it was not fit to be exhibited in any gallery habitually visited by the numerous public little prepared for certain surprises." The resulting scandal was widely covered in the Barcelona press and prompted a popular Madrid illustrated weekly to publish an interview with Dalí.
Some trends in Dalí's work that would continue throughout his life were already evident in the 1920s. Dalí was influenced by many styles of art, ranging from the most academically classic, to the most cutting-edge avant-garde. His classical influences included Raphael, Bronzino, Francisco de Zurbarán, Vermeer and Velázquez. Exhibitions of his works attracted much attention and a mixture of praise and puzzled debate from critics who noted an apparent inconsistency in his work by the use of both traditional and modern techniques and motifs between works and within individual works.
In the mid-1920s Dalí grew a neatly trimmed mustache. In later decades he cultivated a more flamboyant one in the manner of 17th-century Spanish master painter Diego Velázquez, and this mustache became a well known Dalí icon.
1929 to World War II
In 1929, Dalí collaborated with Surrealist film director Luis Buñuel on the short film (An Andalusian Dog). His main contribution was to help Buñuel write the script for the film. Dalí later claimed to have also played a significant role in the filming of the project, but this is not substantiated by contemporary accounts. In August 1929, Dalí met his lifelong muse and future wife Gala, born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. She was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who at that time was married to Surrealist poet Paul Éluard.
In works such as The First Days of Spring, The Great Masturbator and The Lugubrious Game Dalí continued his exploration of the themes of sexual anxiety and unconscious desires. Dalí's first Paris exhibition was at the recently opened Goemans Gallery in November 1929 and featured eleven works. In his preface to the catalog, André Breton described Dalí's new work as "the most hallucinatory that has been produced up to now". The exhibition was a commercial success but the critical response was divided. In the same year, Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The Surrealists hailed what Dalí was later to call his paranoiac-critical method of accessing the subconscious for greater artistic creativity.
Meanwhile, Dalí's relationship with his father was close to rupture. Don Salvador Dalí y Cusi strongly disapproved of his son's romance with Gala and saw his connection to the Surrealists as a bad influence on his morals. The final straw was when Don Salvador read in a Barcelona newspaper that his son had recently exhibited in Paris a drawing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, with a provocative inscription: "Sometimes, I spit for fun on my mother's portrait". Outraged, Don Salvador demanded that his son recant publicly. Dalí refused, perhaps out of fear of expulsion from the Surrealist group, and was violently thrown out of his paternal home on 28 December 1929. His father told him that he would be disinherited and that he should never set foot in Cadaqués again. The following summer, Dalí and Gala rented a small fisherman's cabin in a nearby bay at Port Lligat. He soon bought the cabin, and over the years enlarged it by buying neighboring ones, gradually building his beloved villa by the sea. Dalí's father would eventually relent and come to accept his son's companion.
In 1931, Dalí painted one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, which developed a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic. This idea is supported by other images in the work, such as the wide expanding landscape, and other limp watches shown being devoured by ants.
Dalí had two important exhibitions at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris in June 1931 and May–June 1932. The earlier exhibition included sixteen paintings of which The Persistence of Memory attracted the most attention. Some of the notable features of the exhibitions were the proliferation of images and references to Dalí's muse Gala and the inclusion of Surrealist Objects such as Hypnagogic Clock and Clock Based on the Decomposition of Bodies. Dalí's last, and largest, the exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery was held in June 1933 and included twenty-two paintings, ten drawings, and two objects. One critic noted Dalí's precise draftsmanship and attention to detail, describing him as a "paranoiac of geometrical temperament". Dalí's first New York exhibition was held at Julien Levy's gallery in November–December 1933. The exhibition featured twenty-six works and was a commercial and critical success. The New Yorker critic praised the precision and lack of sentimentality in the works, calling them "frozen nightmares".
Dalí and Gala, having lived together since 1929, were civilly married on 30 January 1934 in Paris. They later remarried in a Church ceremony on 8 August 1958 at Sant Martí Vell. In addition to inspiring many artworks throughout her life, Gala would act as Dalí's business manager, supporting their extravagant lifestyle while adeptly steering clear of insolvency. Gala, who herself engaged in extra-marital affairs, seemed to tolerate Dalí's dalliances with younger muses, secure in her own position as his primary relationship. Dalí continued to paint her as they both aged, producing sympathetic and adoring images of her. The "tense, complex and ambiguous relationship" lasting over 50 years would later become the subject of an opera, Jo, Dalí (I, Dalí) by Catalan composer Xavier Benguerel.
Dalí's first visit to the United States in November 1934 attracted widespread press coverage. His second New York exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery in November–December 1934 and was again a commercial and critical success. Dalí delivered three lectures on Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and other venues during which he told his audience for the first time that "[t]he only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." The heiress Caresse Crosby, the inventor of the brassiere, organized a farewell fancy dress ball for Dalí on 18 January 1935. Dalí wore a glass case on his chest containing a brassiere and Gala dressed as a woman giving birth through her head. A Paris newspaper later claimed that the Dalís had dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper, a claim which Dalí denied.
While the majority of the Surrealist group had become increasingly associated with leftist politics, Dalí maintained an ambiguous position on the subject of the proper relationship between politics and art. Leading Surrealist André Breton accused Dalí of defending the "new" and "irrational" in "the Hitler phenomenon", but Dalí quickly rejected this claim, saying, "I am Hitlerian neither in fact nor intention". Dalí insisted that Surrealism could exist in an apolitical context and refused to explicitly denounce fascism. Later in 1934, Dalí was subjected to a "trial", in which he narrowly avoided being expelled from the Surrealist group. To this, Dalí retorted, "The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist."
In 1936, Dalí took part in the London International Surrealist Exhibition. His lecture, titled , was delivered while wearing a deep-sea diving suit and helmet. He had arrived carrying a billiard cue and leading a pair of Russian wolfhounds and had to have the helmet unscrewed as he gasped for breath. He commented that "I just wanted to show that I was 'plunging deeply into the human mind."
Dalí's first solo London exhibition was held at the Alex, Reid, and Lefevre Gallery the same year. The show included twenty-nine paintings and eighteen drawings. The critical response was generally favorable, although the Daily Telegraph critic wrote: "These pictures from the subconscious reveal so skilled a craftsman that the artist's return to full consciousness may be awaited with interest."
In December 1936 Dalí participated in the Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism exhibition at MoMA and a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Both exhibitions attracted large attendances and widespread press coverage. The painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936) attracted particular attention. Dalí later described it as, "a vast human body breaking out into monstrous excrescences of arms and legs tearing at one another in a delirium of auto-strangulation". On 14 December, Dalí, aged 32, was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
From 1933 Dalí was supported by Zodiac, a group of affluent admirers who each contributed to a monthly stipend for the painter in exchange for a painting of their choice. From 1936 Dalí's main patron in London was the wealthy Edward James who would support him financially for two years. One of Dalí's most important paintings from the period of James' patronage was The Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937). They also collaborated on two of the most enduring icons of the Surrealist movement: the Lobster Telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa.
Dalí was in London when the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936. When he later learned that his friend Lorca had been executed by Nationalist forces, Dalí's claimed response was to shout: "Olé!" Dalí was to include frequent references to the poet in his art and writings for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic for the duration of the conflict.
In January 1938, Dalí unveiled Rainy Taxi, a three-dimensional artwork consisting of an automobile and two mannequin occupants being soaked with rain from within the taxi. The piece was first displayed at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris at the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard. The Exposition was designed by artist Marcel Duchamp, who also served as host.
In March that year, Dalí met Sigmund Freud thanks to Stefan Zweig. As Dalí sketched Freud's portrait, Freud whispered, "That boy looks like a fanatic." Dalí was delighted upon hearing later about this comment from his hero. The following day Freud wrote to Zweig "...until now I have been inclined to regard the Surrealists, who have apparently adopted me as their patron saint, as complete fools.....That young Spaniard, with his candid fanatical eyes and his undeniable technical mastery, has changed my estimate. It would indeed be very interesting to investigate analytically how he came to create that picture [i.e. Metamorphosis of Narcissus]."
In September 1938, Salvador Dalí was invited by Gabrielle Coco Chanel to her house "La Pausa" in Roquebrune on the French Riviera. There he painted numerous paintings he later exhibited at Julien Levy Gallery in New York. This exhibition in March–April 1939 included twenty-one paintings and eleven drawings. Life reported that no exhibition in New York had been so popular since Whistler's Mother was shown in 1934.
At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Dalí debuted his Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion, located in the Amusements Area of the exposition. It featured bizarre sculptures, statues, mermaids, and live nude models in "costumes" made of fresh seafood, an event photographed by Horst P. Horst, George Platt Lynes, and Murray Korman. Dalí was angered by changes to his designs, railing against mediocrities who thought that "a woman with the tail of a fish is possible; a woman with the head of a fish impossible."
Soon after Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939, Dalí wrote to Luis Buñuel denouncing socialism and Marxism and praising Catholicism and the Falange. As a result, Buñuel broke off relations with Dalí.
In the May issue of the Surrealist magazine Minotaure, André Breton announced Dalí's expulsion from the Surrealist group, claiming that Dalí had espoused race war and that the over-refinement of his paranoiac-critical method was a repudiation of Surrealist automatism. This led many Surrealists to break off relations with Dalí. In 1949 Breton coined the derogatory nickname "Avida Dollars" (avid for dollars), an anagram for "Salvador Dalí". This was a derisive reference to the increasing commercialization of Dalí's work, and the perception that Dalí sought self-aggrandizement through fame and fortune.
World War II
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 saw the Dalís in France. Following the German invasion, they were able to escape because on 20 June 1940 they were issued visas by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France. They crossed into Portugal and subsequently sailed on the Excambion from Lisbon to New York in August 1940. Dalí and Gala were to live in the United States for eight years, splitting their time between New York and the Monterey Peninsula, California.
Dalí spent the winter of 1940–41 at Hampton Manor, the residence of Caresse Crosby, in Caroline County, Virginia, where he worked on various projects including his autobiography and paintings for his upcoming exhibition.
Dalí announced the death of the Surrealist movement and the return of classicism in his exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in April–May 1941. The exhibition included nineteen paintings (among them Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire and The Face of War) and other works. In his catalog essay and media comments, Dalí proclaimed a return to form, control, structure and the Golden Section. Sales however were disappointing and the majority of critics did not believe there had been a major change in Dalí's work.
The Museum of Modern Art held two major, simultaneous retrospectives of Dali and Joan Miró from November 1941 to February 1942, Dalí being represented by forty-two paintings and sixteen drawings. Dalí's work attracted significant attention of critics and the exhibition later toured eight American cities, enhancing his reputation in America.
In October 1942, Dalí's autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí was published simultaneously in New York and London and was reviewed widely by the press. Time magazine's reviewer called it "one of the most irresistible books of the year". George Orwell later wrote a scathing review in the Saturday Book. A passage in the autobiography in which Dalí claimed that Buñuel was solely responsible for the anti-clericalism in the film L'Age d'Or may have indirectly led to Buñuel resigning his position at MoMA in 1943 under pressure from the State Department. Dalí also published a novel Hidden Faces in 1944 with less critical and commercial success.
In the catalog essay for his exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery in New York in 1943 Dalí continued his attack on the Surrealist movement, writing: "Surrealism will at least have served to give experimental proof that total sterility and attempts at automatizations have gone too far and have led to a totalitarian system. ... Today's laziness and the total lack of technique have reached their paroxysm in the psychological signification of the current use of the college [collage]". The critical response to the society portraits in the exhibition, however, was generally negative.
In November–December 1945 Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery in New York. The exhibition included eleven oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and illustrations. Works included Basket of Bread, Atomic and Uranian Melancholic Ideal, and My Wife Nude Contemplating her own Body Transformed into Steps, the Three Vertebrae of a Column, Sky and Architecture. The exhibition was notable for works in Dalí's new classicism style and those heralding his "atomic period".
During the war years, Dalí was also engaged in projects in various other fields. He executed designs for a number of ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, and The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944). In 1945 he created the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound. He also produced artwork and designs for products such as perfumes, cosmetics, hosiery and ties.
Post War in United States (1946–48)
In 1946 Dalí worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on an unfinished animated film Destino.
Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery from November 1947 to January 1948. The 14 oil paintings and other works in the exhibition reflected Dalí's increasing interest in atomic physics. Notable works included Dematerialization Near the Nose of Nero (The Separation of the Atom), Intra-Atomic Equilibrium of a Swan's Feather, and a study for Leda Atomica. The proportions of the latter work were worked out in collaboration with a mathematician.
In early 1948 Dalí's 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship was published. The book was a mixture of anecdotes, practical advice on painting, and Dalínian polemics.
Later years in Spain
In 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near Cadaqués. For the next three decades, they would spend most of their time there, spending winters in Paris and New York. Dalí's decision to live in Spain under Franco and his public support for the regime prompted outrage from many anti-Francoist artists and intellectuals. Pablo Picasso refused to mention Dalí's name or acknowledge his existence for the rest of his life. In 1960, André Breton unsuccessfully fought against the inclusion of Dalí's Sistine Madonna in the Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanter's Domain exhibition organized by Marcel Duchamp in New York. Breton and other Surrealists issued a tract to coincide with the exhibition denouncing Dalí as "the ex-apologist of Hitler... and friend of Franco".
In December 1949 Dalí's sister Anna Maria published her book Salvador Dalí Seen by his Sister. Dalí was angered by passages that he considered derogatory towards his wife Gala and broke off relations with his family. When Dalí's father died in September 1950 Dalí learned that he had been virtually disinherited in his will. A two-year legal dispute followed over paintings and drawings Dalí had left in his family home, during which Dalí was accused of assaulting a public notary.
As Dalí moved further towards embracing Catholicism he introduced more religious iconography and themes in his painting. In 1949 he painted a study for The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949) and showed it to Pope Pius XII during an audience arranged to discuss Dalí 's marriage to Gala. This work was a precursor to the phase Dalí dubbed "Nuclear Mysticism," a fusion of Einsteinian physics, classicism, and Catholic mysticism. In paintings such as The Madonna of Port Lligat, The Christ of Saint John on the Cross and The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics. His later Nuclear Mysticism works included La Gare de Perpignan (1965) and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968–70).
Dalí's keen interest in natural science and mathematics was further manifested by the proliferation of images of DNA and rhinoceros horn shapes in works from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. Dalí was also fascinated by the Tesseract (a four-dimensional cube), using it, for example, in Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).
Dalí had been extensively using optical illusions such as double images, anamorphosis, negative space, visual puns and trompe-l'œil since his Surrealist period and this continued in his later work. At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in Port Lligat. He made extensive use of it to study foreshortening, both from above and from below, incorporating dramatic perspectives of figures and objects into his paintings. He also experimented with the bulletist technique pointillism, enlarged half-tone dot grids and stereoscopic images. He was among the first artists to employ holography in an artistic manner. In Dalí's later years, young artists such as Andy Warhol proclaimed him an important influence on pop art.
In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre-Museum in his home town of Figueres. It was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through to 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s.
In 1955 Dalí met Nanita Kalaschnikoff, who was to become a close friend, muse, and model. At a French nightclub in 1965 Dalí met Amanda Lear, a fashion model then known as Peki Oslo. Lear became his protégée and one of his muses. According to Lear, she and Dalí were united in a "spiritual marriage" on a deserted mountaintop.
Final years and death
In 1968, Dalí bought a castle in Púbol for Gala, and from 1971 she would retreat there for weeks at a time, Dalí having agreed not to visit without her written permission. His fears of abandonment and estrangement from his longtime artistic muse contributed to depression and failing health.
In 1980, at age 76, Dalí's health deteriorated sharply and he was treated for depression, drug addiction, and Parkinson-like symptoms, including a severe tremor in his right arm. There were also allegations that Gala had been supplying Dalí with pharmaceuticals from her own prescriptions.
Gala died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 87. After her death, Dalí moved from Figueres to the castle in Púbol, where she was entombed.
In 1982, King Juan Carlos bestowed on Dalí the title of Marqués de Dalí de Púbol (Marquess of Dalí of Púbol) in the nobility of Spain, Púbol being where Dalí then lived. The title was initially hereditary, but at Dalí's request was changed to life-only in 1983.
In May 1983, what was said to be Dalí's last painting, The Swallow's Tail, was revealed. The work was heavily influenced by the mathematical catastrophe theory of René Thom. However, some critics have questioned how Dalí could have executed a painting with such precision given the severe tremor in his painting arm.
From early 1984 Dalí's depression worsened and he refused food, leading to severe undernourishment. Dalí had previously stated his intention to put himself into a state of suspended animation as he had read that some microorganisms could do. In August 1984 a fire broke out in Dalí's bedroom and he was hospitalized with severe burns. Two judicial inquiries found that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and no findings of negligence were made. After his release from hospital Dalí moved to the Torre Galatea, an annex to the Dalí Theatre-Museum.
There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that could later be used in forgeries. It is also alleged that he knowingly sold otherwise-blank lithograph paper which he had signed, possibly producing over 50,000 such sheets from 1965 until his death. As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí.
In July 1986, Dalí had a pacemaker implanted. On his return to his Theatre-Museum he made a brief public appearance, saying:
In November 1988, Dalí entered hospital with heart failure. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí. Dalí gave the king a drawing, Head of Europa, which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing.
On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The location is across the street from the church of Sant Pere, where he had his baptism, first communion, and funeral, and is only from the house where he was born.
The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate. The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the Artists Rights Society.
Exhumation
On 26 June 2017 it was announced that a judge in Madrid had ordered the exhumation of Dalí's body in order to obtain samples for a paternity suit. Joan Manuel Sevillano, manager of the Fundación Gala Salvador Dalí (The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation), denounced the exhumation as inappropriate. The exhumation took place on the evening of 20 July, and his DNA was extracted. On 6 September 2017 the Foundation stated that the tests carried out proved conclusively that Dalí and the claimant were not related. On 18 May 2020 a Spanish court dismissed an appeal from the claimant and ordered her to pay the costs of the exhumation.
Symbolism
From the late 1920s, Dalí progressively introduced many bizarre or incongruous images into his work which invite symbolic interpretation. While some of these images suggest a straightforward sexual or Freudian interpretation (Dalí read Freud in the 1920s) others (such as locusts, rotting donkeys, and sea urchins) are idiosyncratic and have been variously interpreted. Some commentators have cautioned that Dalí's own comments on these images are not always reliable.
Food
Food and eating have a central place in Dalí's thoughts and work. He associated food with beauty and sex and was obsessed with the image of the female praying mantis eating her mate after copulation. Bread was a recurring image in Dalí's art, from his early work The Basket of Bread to later public performances such as in 1958 when he gave a lecture in Paris armed with a 12-meter-long baguette. He saw bread as "the elementary basis of continuity" and "sacred subsistence".
The egg is another common Dalínian image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love. It appears in The Great Masturbator, The Metamorphosis of Narcissus and many other works. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dalí's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres.
Both Dalí and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaqués. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dalí, and he adapted its form to many artworks. Other foods also appear throughout his work.
The famous "melting watches" that appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. Dalí later claimed that the idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to him when he was contemplating Camembert cheese.
Animals
The rhinoceros and rhinoceros horn shapes began to proliferate in Dalí's work from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary. However, he also used it as an obvious phallic symbol as in Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity.
Various other animals appear throughout Dalí's work: rotting donkeys and ants have been interpreted as pointing to death, decay, and sexual desire; the snail as connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts as a symbol of waste and fear. The elephant is also a recurring image in his work; for example, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants are inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk.
Science
Dalí's life-long interest in science and mathematics was often reflected in his work. His soft watches have been interpreted as references to Einstein's theory of the relativity of time and space. Images of atomic particles appeared in his work soon after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and strands of D.N.A. appeared from the mid-1950s. In 1958 he wrote in his Anti-Matter Manifesto: "In the Surrealist period, I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world and the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud. Today, the exterior world and that of physics have transcended the one of psychology. My father today is Dr. Heisenberg."
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954) harks back to The Persistence of Memory (1931) and in portraying that painting in fragmentation and disintegration has been interpreted as a reference to Heisenberg's quantum mechanics.
Endeavors outside painting
Dalí was a versatile artist. Some of his more popular works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theater, fashion, and photography, among other areas.
Sculptures and other objects
From the early 1930s, Dalí was an enthusiastic proponent of the proliferation of three-dimensional Surrealist Objects to subvert perceptions of conventional reality, writing: "museums will fast fill with objects whose uselessness, size and crowding will necessitate the construction, in deserts, of special towers to contain them." His more notable early objects include Board of Demented Associations (1930–31), Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933), Venus de Milo with Chest of Drawers (1936) and Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket (1936). Two of the most popular objects of the Surrealist movement were Lobster Telephone (1936) and Mae West Lips Sofa (1937) which were commissioned by art patron Edward James. Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for Dalí who drew a close analogy between food and sex. The telephone was functional, and James purchased four of them from Dalí to replace the phones in his home. The Mae West Lips Sofa was shaped after the lips of actress Mae West, who was previously the subject of Dalí's watercolor, The Face of Mae West which may be used as a Surrealist Apartment (1934–35). In December 1936 Dalí sent Harpo Marx a Christmas present of a harp with barbed-wire strings.
After World War II Dalí authorized many sculptures derived from his most famous works and images. In his later years other sculptures also appeared, often in large editions, whose authenticity has sometimes been questioned.
Between 1941 and 1970, Dalí created an ensemble of 39 pieces of jewelry, many of which are intricate, some containing moving parts. The most famous assemblage, The Royal Heart, is made of gold and is encrusted with 46 rubies, 42 diamonds, and four emeralds, created in such a way that the center "beats" like a heart.
Dalí ventured into industrial design in the 1970s with a 500-piece run of Suomi tableware by Timo Sarpaneva that Dalí decorated for the German Rosenthal porcelain maker's "Studio Linie". In 1969 he designed the Chupa Chups logo. He facilitated the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and created a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Theater and film
In theater, Dalí designed the scenery for Federico García Lorca's 1927 romantic play Mariana Pineda. For Bacchanale (1939), a ballet based on and set to the music of Richard Wagner's 1845 opera Tannhäuser, Dalí provided both the set design and the libretto. He executed designs for a number of other ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944) and The Three-Cornered Hat (1949).
Dalí became interested in film when he was young, going to the theater most Sundays. By the late 1920s he was fascinated by the potential of film to reveal "the unlimited fantasy born of things themselves" and went on to collaborate with the director Luis Buñuel on two Surrealist films: the 17-minute short Un Chien Andalou (1929) and the feature film L'Age d'Or (1930). Dalí and Buñuel agree that they jointly developed the script and imagery of Un Chien Andalou, but there is controversy over the extent of Dalí's contribution to L'Age d'Or. Un Chien Andalou features a graphic opening scene of a human eyeball being slashed with a razor and develops surreal imagery and irrational discontinuities in time and space to produce a dreamlike quality. L'Age d'Or is more overtly anti-clerical and anti-establishment, and was banned after right-wing groups staged a riot in the Parisian theater where it was being shown. Summarizing the impact of these two films on the Surrealist film movement, one commentator has stated: "If Un Chien Andalou stands as the supreme record of Surrealism's adventures into the realm of the unconscious, then L'Âge d'Or is perhaps the most trenchant and implacable expression of its revolutionary intent."
After he collaborated with Buñuel, Dalí worked on several unrealized film projects including a published script for a film, Babaouo (1932); a scenario for Harpo Marx called Giraffes on Horseback Salad (1937); and an abandoned dream sequence for the film Moontide (1942). In 1945 Dalí created the dream sequence in Hitchcock's Spellbound, but neither Dalí nor the director was satisfied with the result. Dalí also worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on the short film Destino in 1946. After initially being abandoned, the animated film was completed in 2003 by Baker Bloodworth and Walt Disney's nephew Roy E. Disney. Between 1954 and 1961 Dalí worked with photographer Robert Descharnes on The Prodigious History of the Lacemaker and the Rhinoceros, but the film was never completed.
In the 1960s Dalí worked with some directors on documentary and performance films including with Philippe Halsman on Chaos and Creation (1960), Jack Bond on Dalí in New York (1966) and Jean-Christophe Averty on Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dalí (1966).
Dalí collaborated with director José-Montes Baquer on the pseudo-documentary film Impressions of Upper Mongolia (1975), in which Dalí narrates a story about an expedition in search of giant hallucinogenic mushrooms. In the mid-1970s film director Alejandro Jodorowsky initially cast Dalí in the role of the Padishah Emperor in a production of Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. However, Jodorowsky changed his mind after Dalí publicly supported the execution of alleged ETA terrorists in December 1975. The film was ultimately never made.
In 1972 Dalí began to write the scenario for an opera-poem called Être Dieu (To Be God). The Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán wrote the libretto and Igor Wakhévitch the music. The opera poem was recorded in Paris in 1974 with Dalí in the role of the protagonist.
Fashion and photography
Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli worked with Dalí from the 1930s and commissioned him to produce a white dress with a lobster print. Other designs Dalí made for her include a shoe-shaped hat and a pink belt with lips for a buckle. He was also involved in creating textile designs and perfume bottles. In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.
Photographers with whom he collaborated include Man Ray, Brassaï, Cecil Beaton, and Philippe Halsman. Halsman produced the Dalí Atomica series (1948) – inspired by Dalí's painting Leda Atomica – which in one photograph depicts "a painter's easel, three cats, a bucket of water, and Dalí himself floating in the air".
Architecture
Dalí's architectural achievements include his Port Lligat house near Cadaqués, as well as his Theatre Museum in Figueres. A major work outside of Spain was the temporary Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which contained several unusual sculptures and statues, including live performers posing as statues.
Literary works
In his only novel, Hidden Faces (1944), Dalí describes the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolizes the decadence of the 1930s. The Comte de Grandsailles and Solange de Cléda pursue a love affair, but interwar political turmoil and other vicissitudes drive them apart. It is variously set in Paris, rural France, Casablanca in North Africa, and Palm Springs in the United States. Secondary characters include aging widow Barbara Rogers, her bisexual daughter Veronica, Veronica's sometime female lover Betka, and Baba, a disfigured U.S. fighter pilot. The novel was written in New York, and translated by Haakon Chevalier.
His other literary works include The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942), Diary of a Genius (1966), and Oui: The Paranoid-Critical Revolution (1971). Dalí also published poetry, essays, art criticism, and a technical manual on art.
Graphic arts
Dalí worked extensively in the graphic arts, producing many drawings, etchings, and lithographs. Among the most notable of these works are forty etchings for an edition of Lautréamont's The Songs of Maldoror (1933) and eighty drypoint reworkings of Goya's Caprichos (1973–77). From the 1960s, however, Dalí would often sell the rights to images but not be involved in the print production itself. In addition, a large number of fakes were produced in the 1980s and 1990s, thus further confusing the Dalí print market.
Book illustrations were an important part of Dalí's work throughout his career. His first book illustration was for the 1924 publication of the Catalan poem ("The Witches of Liers") by his friend and schoolmate, poet Carles Fages de Climent. His other notable book illustrations, apart from The Songs of Maldoror, include 101 watercolors and engravings for The Divine Comedy (1960) and 100 drawings and watercolors for The Arabian Nights (1964).
Politics and personality
Politics and religion
As a youth, Dalí identified as Communist, anti-monarchist and anti-clerical and in 1924 he was briefly imprisoned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship as a person "intensely liable to cause public disorder". When Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in 1929 his political activism initially intensified. In 1931, he became involved in the Workers' and Peasants' Front, delivering lectures at meetings and contributing to their party journal. However, as political divisions within the Surrealist group grew, Dalí soon developed a more apolitical stance, refusing to publicly denounce fascism. In 1934, Andre Breton accused him of being sympathetic to Hitler and Dalí narrowly avoided being expelled from the group. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic. However, immediately after Franco's victory in 1939, Dalí praised Catholicism and the Falange and was expelled from the Surrealist group.
After Dalí's return to his native Catalonia in 1948, he publicly supported Franco's regime and announced his return to the Catholic faith. Dalí was granted an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1949 and with Pope John XXIII in 1959. He had official meetings with General Franco in June 1956, October 1968, and May 1974. In 1968, Dalí stated that on Franco's death there should be no return to democracy and Spain should become an absolute monarchy. In September 1975, Dalí publicly supported Franco's decision to execute three alleged Basque terrorists and repeated his support for an absolute monarchy, adding: "Personally, I'm against freedom; I'm for the Holy Inquisition." In the following days, he fled to New York after his home in Port Lligat was stoned and he had received numerous death threats. When King Juan Carlos visited the ailing Dalí in August 1981, Dalí told him: "I have always been an anarchist and a monarchist."
Dalí espoused a mystical view of Catholicism and in his later years he claimed to be a Catholic and an agnostic. He was interested in the writings of the Jesuit priest and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin and his Omega Point theory. Dalí's painting Tuna Fishing (Homage to Meissonier) (1967) was inspired by his reading of Chardin.
Sexuality
Dalí's sexuality had a profound influence on his work. He stated that as a child he saw a book with graphic illustrations of venereal diseases and this provoked a life-long disgust of female genitalia and a fear of impotence and sexual intimacy. Dalí frequently stated that his main sexual activity involved voyeurism and masturbation and his preferred sexual orifice was the anus. Dalí said that his wife Gala was the only person with whom he had achieved complete coitus. From 1927 Dalí's work featured graphic and symbolic sexual images usually associated with other images evoking shame and disgust. Images of anality and excrement also abound in his work from this time. Some of the most notable works reflecting these themes include The First Days of Spring (1929), The Great Masturbator (1929), and The Lugubrious Game (1929). Several of Dalí's intimates in the 1960s and 1970s have stated that he would arrange for selected guests to perform choreographed sexual activities to aid his voyeurism and masturbation.
Personality
Dalí was renowned for his eccentric and ostentatious behavior throughout his career. In 1941, the Director of Exhibitions and Publications at MoMA wrote: "The fame of Salvador Dalí has been an issue of particular controversy for more than a decade...Dalí's conduct may have been undignified, but the greater part of his art is a matter of dead earnest." When Dalí was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 1979, one of his fellow academicians stated that he hoped Dalí would now abandon his "clowneries".
In 1936, at the premiere screening of Joseph Cornell's film Rose Hobart at Julien Levy's gallery in New York City, Dalí knocked over the projector in a rage. "My idea for a film is exactly that," he said shortly afterward, "I never wrote it down or told anyone, but it is as if he had stolen it!" In 1939, while working on a window display for Bonwit Teller, he became so enraged by unauthorized changes to his work that he pushed a display bathtub through a plate glass window. In 1955, he delivered a lecture at the Sorbonne, arriving in a Rolls Royce full of cauliflowers. To promote Robert Descharnes' 1962 book The World of Salvador Dalí, he appeared in a Manhattan bookstore on a bed, wired up to a machine that traced his brain waves and blood pressure. He would autograph books while thus monitored, and the book buyer would also be given the paper chart recording.
After World War II, Dalí became one of the most recognized artists in the world, and his long cape, walking stick, haughty expression, and upturned waxed mustache became icons of his brand. His boastfulness and public declarations of his genius became essential elements of the public Dalí persona: "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí".
Dalí frequently traveled with his pet ocelot Babou, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner SS France. He was also known to avoid paying at restaurants by executing drawings on the checks he wrote. His theory was the restaurant would never want to cash such a valuable piece of art, and he was usually correct.
Dalí's fame meant he was a frequent guest on television in Spain, France and the United States, including appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on 7 January 1963 The Mike Wallace Interview and the panel show What's My Line?. Dalí appeared on The Dick Cavett Show on 6 March 1970 carrying an anteater.
He also appeared in numerous advertising campaigns such for chocolates and Braniff International Airlines in 1968.
Legacy
Two major museums are devoted to Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Dalí's life and work have been an important influence on pop art, other Surrealists, and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. He has been portrayed on film by Robert Pattinson in Little Ashes (2008), and by Adrien Brody in Midnight in Paris (2011). The Salvador Dalí Desert in Bolivia and the Dalí crater on the planet Mercury are named for him.
The Spanish television series Money Heist (2017–2021) includes characters wearing a costume of red jumpsuits and Dalí masks. The creator of the series stated that the Dalí mask was chosen because it was an iconic Spanish image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation protested against the use of Dalí's image without the authorisation of the Dali estate. Following the popular success of the series, there were reports of people in various countries wearing the costume while participating in political protests, committing crimes or as fancy dress.
Honors
1964: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
1972: Associate member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
1978: Associate member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France
1981: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
1982: Created 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, by King Juan Carlos
List of selected works
Dalí produced over 1,600 paintings and numerous graphic works, sculptures, three-dimensional objects, and designs. Below is a sample of important and representative works.
Landscape Near Figueras (1910–14)
Vilabertran (1910–14)
Cabaret Scene (1922)
Night Walking Dreams (1922)
The Basket of Bread (1926)
Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) (1927)
Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927)
Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) (1929) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
The Lugubrious Game (1929)
The Great Masturbator (1929)
The First Days of Spring (1929)
L'Age d'Or (The Golden Age) (1930) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
Board of Demented Associations (1930–31) (Surrealist object)
Premature Ossification of a Railway Station (1931)
The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933) (mixed media sculpture collage)
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (c.1934)
Lobster Telephone (1936)
Venus de Milo with Drawers (1936)
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936)
Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937)
Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937)
The Burning Giraffe (1937)
Mae West Lips Sofa (1937)
Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach (1938)
Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time (1939)
Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire (1940)
The Face of War (also known as The Visage of the War) (1940)
Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man (1943)
Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (c.1944)
Basket of Bread – Rather Death than Shame (1945)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946)
The Elephants (1948) (also known as Project for "As You Like It")
Leda Atomica (1947–1949)
The Madonna of Port Lligat (1949)
Christ of Saint John of the Cross (also known as The Christ) (1951)
Galatea of the Spheres (1952) (also known as Gala Placidia)
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1952–54)
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) (c.1954) (also known as Hypercubic Christ)
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity (1954)
The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955)
Still Life Moving Fast (c. 1956) (also known as Fast-Moving Still Life)
The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (1958)
Perpignan Railway Station (c. 1965)
Tuna Fishing (1966–67)
The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1970)
Nieuw Amsterdam (1974 object/sculpture)
The Swallow's Tail (c.1983)
Dalí museums and permanent exhibitions
Dalí Theatre-Museum – Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, holds the largest collection of Dalí's work
Gala Dalí House-Museum – Castle of Púbol in Púbol, Catalonia, Spain
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum) – Madrid, Spain, holds a significant collection
Salvador Dalí House Museum – Port Lligat, Catalonia, Spain
Salvador Dalí Museum – St Petersburg, Florida, contains the collection of Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, and over 1500 works by Dalí, including seven large "masterworks"
Major temporary exhibitions
In 2018, a traveling museum exhibition focusing on Dalí's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy premiered at the Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana. The exhibition titled Salvador Dalí's Stairway to Heaven will be touring the United States through 2021.
Gallery
See also
List of Spanish artists
Salvador Dalí and Dance
References
Further reading
Important books by or about Salvador Dalí readily available in English include:
Ades, Dawn, Salvador Dalí, Thames and Hudson, 1995 (2nd ed.)
Dalí, Salvador, Oui: the paranoid-critical revolution: writings 1927–1933, (edited by Robert Descharnes, translated by Yvonne Shafir), Boston: Exact Change, 1998
Dalí, Salvador, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, New York, Dover, 1993 (translated by Haakon M. Chevalier, first published 1942)
Dalí, Salvador, The Diary of a Genius, London, Hutchinson, 1990 (translated by Richard Howard, first published 1964)
Dalí, Salvador, The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dalí, London, Quartet Books, 1977 (first published 1973)
Descharnes, Robert, Salvador Dalí (translated by Eleanor R. Morse), New York, Abradale Press, 1993
Gibson, Ian, The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí, London, Faber and Faber, 1997
Shanes, Eric, Salvador Dalí, Parkstone International, 2014
External links
Salvador Dalí on What's My Line?
Interview and bank advertisement.
A collection of interviews and footage of Dalí in the French television
Mike Wallace interviews Salvador Dalí Archived 15 December 2015. Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin
Panorama: Salvador Dali - Malcolm Muggeridge BBC interview, first transmitted 4 May 1955
Salvador Dalí at LletrA, Catalan Literature Online (Open University of Catalonia).
1904 births
1989 deaths
People from Figueres
Spanish artists
20th-century Spanish painters
Spanish male painters
Surrealist artists
Painters from Catalonia
Spanish illustrators
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Marquesses of Spain
Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium
Modern painters
Spanish printmakers
Spanish erotic artists
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish surrealist artists
Surrealist filmmakers
20th-century Spanish sculptors
20th-century male artists
Spanish male sculptors
Mathematical artists
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Federico García Lorca
1939 New York World's Fair artists
Spanish people of Arab descent
Spanish people of Jewish descent
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[
"Salvador Dali's Tarot is a book by Rachel Pollack published in 1985.\n\nContents\nSalvador Dali's Tarot is a book about the 78 paintings of Dalí's personal Tarot pack, each of which is reproduced in color on its own page.\n\nReception\nDave Langford reviewed Salvador Dali's Tarot for White Dwarf #71, and stated that \"I have no faith in fortune-telling, but the cabalistic symbolism is fascinating ... especially when refracted through the eye of a supremely dotty surrealist.\"\n\nReferences\n\nSalvador Dalí",
"Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) is a trademark for network-based products that control lighting. The underlying technology was established by a consortium of lighting equipment manufacturers as a successor for 1-10 V/ lighting control systems, and as an open standard alternative to several proprietary protocols. The DALI, DALI-2 and D4i trademarks are owned by the lighting industry alliance, DiiA (Digital Illumination Interface Alliance).\n\nDALI is specified by a series of technical standards in IEC 62386. Standards conformance ensures that equipment from different manufacturers will interoperate. The DALI trademark is allowed on devices that comply with the DiiA testing and certification requirements, and are listed as either registered (DALI version-1) or certified (DALI-2) on the DiiA website. D4i certification - an extension of DALI-2 - was added by DiiA in November 2019.\n\nMembers of the AG DALI were allowed to use the DALI trademark until the DALI working party was dissolved on 30 March 2017, when trademark use was transferred to DiiA members. Since 9 June 2017, Digital Illumination Interface Alliance (DiiA) certifies DALI products. DiiA is a Partner Program of IEEE-ISTO.\n\nTechnical overview\nA DALI network consists of at least one application controller and bus power supply (which may be built into any of the products) as well as input devices (e.g. sensors and push-buttons), control gear (e.g., electrical ballasts, LED drivers and dimmers) with DALI interfaces. Application controllers can control, configure or query each device by means of a bi-directional data exchange. The DALI protocol permits addressing devices individually, in groups or via broadcast.\n\nEach device is assigned a unique short address between 0 and 63, making up to 64 control gear devices and 64 control devices possible in a basic system. Address assignment is performed over the bus using a \"commissioning\" protocol, usually after all hardware is installed. Data is transferred between devices by means of an asynchronous, half-duplex, serial protocol over a two-wire bus with a fixed data transfer rate of .\n\nA single pair of wires comprises the bus used for communication on a DALI network. The network can be arranged in bus or star topology, or a combination of these. Each device on a DALI network can be addressed individually, unlike DSI and 0–10V devices. Consequently, DALI networks typically use fewer wires than DSI or 0–10V systems.\n\nThe bus is used for both signal and bus power. A power supply provides up to 250 mA at typically 16 V DC; each device may draw up to 2 mA unless bus-powered. While many devices are mains-powered (line-powered), low-power devices such as motion detectors may be powered directly from the DALI bus. Each device has a bridge rectifier on its input so it is polarity-insensitive. The bus is a wired-AND configuration where signals are sent by briefly shorting the bus to a low voltage level. (The power supply is required to tolerate this, limiting the current to 250 mA.)\n\nAlthough the DALI control cable operates at ELV potential, it is not classified as SELV (Safety Extra Low Voltage) and must be treated as if it has only basic insulation from mains. This has the disadvantage that the network cable is required to be mains-rated, but has the advantage that it may be run next to mains cables or within a multi-core cable which includes mains power. Also, mains-powered devices (e.g., LED drivers) need only provide functional insulation between the mains and the DALI control wires.\n\nThe network cable is required to provide a maximum drop of along the cable. At 250 mA of supply current, that requires a resistance of ≤ per wire. The wire size needed to achieve this depends on the length of the bus, up to a recommended maximum of at 300 m when using the maximum rating of bus power supply.\n\nThe speed is kept low so no termination resistors are required, and data is transmitted using relatively high voltages ( for low and for high) enabling reliable communications in the presence of significant electrical noise. (This also allows plenty of headroom for a bridge rectifier in each slave.)\n\nEach bit is sent using Manchester encoding (a \"1\" bit is low for the first half of the bit time, and high for the second, while \"0\" is the reverse), so that power is present for half of each bit. When the bus is idle, the voltage level is continuously high (which is not the same as a data bit). Frames begin with a \"1\" start bit, then 8 to 32 data bits in msbit-first order (standard RS-232 is lsbit-first), followed by a minimum of 2.45 ms of idle.\n\nDevice addressing\nA DALI device, such as an LED driver, can be controlled individually via its short address. Additionally, DALI devices may be arranged into groups in which all devices of the same group can respond to the commands addressed to the group. For example, a room with 4 ballasts can be changed from off to on in three common ways:\n\nSingle device\nUsing the Short Address, e.g. sending the following DALI messages:\n\n DALI Short Address 1 go to 100%\n DALI Short Address 2 go to 100%\n DALI Short Address 3 go to 100%\n DALI Short Address 4 go to 100%\n\nThis method has the advantage of not requiring programming of group and scene information for each ballast. The fade time of the transition can be chosen on the fly.\nThis method may be undesirable because simultaneous control of a large number of devices may not be possible due to network latency and the comparatively slow 1200 baud rate of DALI. For example, turning all lighting fixtures off may result in a visible delay between the first and last ballasts switching off. This issue is normally not a problem in rooms with a smaller number of ballasts.\n\nDevice groups\nUsing the DALI Group previously defined for the ballasts in the room, e.g.:\n DALI Group address 1 go to 100%\n\nThis method has the advantage of being immune to synchronization effects as described above.\nThis method has the disadvantage of requiring each ballast to be programmed with the required group numbers and scene information. The fade time can still be configured on the fly, if required.\n\nBroadcast\nUsing the DALI Broadcast command, all control gear will change to that level, e.g.:\n DALI Broadcast go to 50%\n\nBrightness control\nDALI lighting levels are specified by an 8-bit value, with 0 representing off, 1 means 0.1% of full brightness, 254 means full brightness, and other values being logarithmically interpolated, giving a 2.77% increase per step. I.e., a (non-zero) control byte denotes a power level of .\n\n(A value of 255 is reserved for freezing the current lighting level without changing it.)\n\nThis is designed to match human eye sensitivity so that perceived brightness steps are uniform, and to ensure corresponding brightness levels in units from different manufacturers.\n\nScenes\nDevices store 16 programmable output levels as \"scenes\". A single broadcast command causes each device to change to its configured level, e.g. dim lights over the audience and bright lights over the stage. (A programmed output level of 255 causes a device not to respond to a given scene.)\n\nA 17th \"system failure\" scene is triggered by a loss of power (sustained low level) on the DALI bus, to provide a safe fallback if control is lost.\n\nCommands for control gear\nForward frames sent to control gear are 16 bits long, comprising an address byte followed by an opcode byte. The address byte specifies a target device or a special command addressed to all devices.\n\nWhen addressing a device, the least significant bit of the address byte specifies the interpretation of the opcode byte, with \"0\" meaning a target (light) level byte follows, and \"1\" meaning a command follows.\n\nSeveral important special commands are used to save the data byte to one of the three \"data transfer registers\" which can be used as a parameter by subsequent commands.\n\nAddress byte format:\n 0AAA AAAS: Target device 0 ≤ A < 64.\n 100A AAAS: Target group 0 ≤ A < 16. Each control gear may be a member of any or all groups.\n 1111 110S: Broadcast unaddressed\n 1111 111S: Broadcast\n 1010 0000 to 1100 1011: Special commands\n 1100 1100 to 1111 1011: Reserved\n\nCommon control gear commands:\n\nCommands for control devices\nThe DALI-2 standard added standardisation of control devices. Control devices can include input devices such as daylight sensors, passive infrared room occupancy sensors, and manual lighting controls, or they can be application controllers that are the \"brains\" of the system - using information to make decisions and control the lights and other devices. Control devices can also combine the functionality of an application controller and an input device. Control devices use 24-bit forward frames, which are ignored by control gear, so up to 64 control devices may share the bus with up to 64 control gear.\n\nD4i\nDiiA published several new specifications in 2018 and 2019, extending DALI-2 functionality with power and data, especially for intra-luminaire DALI systems. Applications include indoor and outdoor luminaires, and small DALI systems. The D4i trademark is used on certified products to indicate that these new features are included in the products.\n\nColour control\nIEC 62386-209 describes colour control gear. This describes several colour types - methods of controlling colour. The most popular of these is Tc (tunable white), and was added to DALI-2 certification in January 2020.\n\nEmergency lighting\nIEC 62386-202 describes self-contained emergency lighting. Features include automated triggering of function tests and duration tests, and recording of results. These devices are currently included in DALI version-1 registration, with tests for DALI-2 certification in development. Such DALI version-1 products can be mixed with DALI-2 products in the same system, with no problems expected.\n\nWireless\nIEC 62386-104 describes several wireless and wired transport alternatives to the conventional wired DALI bus system. DiiA is working with other industry associations to enable certification of DALI-2 products that operate over certain underlying wireless carriers. \nIt is also possible to combine DALI with wireless communication via application gateways that translate between DALI and the wireless protocol of choice. While such gateways are not standardized, DiiA is working with other industry associations to develop the necessary specifications and tests to achieve this. DiiA: DALI and Wireless\n\nSee also\n Dimmer\n Lighting control console\n Lighting control system\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Digital Illumination Interface Alliance\n\nBuilding automation\nLighting\nOpen standards"
] |
[
"Salvador Dalí",
"Symbolism",
"What type of symbolism did Dali use?",
"The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works.",
"What did the elephant mean?",
"\"The elephant is a distortion in space\", one analysis explains, \"its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure.",
"Did Dali use any other forms of symbolism?",
"The egg is another common Daliesque image."
] |
C_6b3cf6c103be4cff822da0ceaebbd6b1_0
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What did the egg represent?
| 4 |
What did the egg in Salvador Dalí's works represent?
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Salvador Dalí
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Dali employed extensive symbolism in his work. For instance, the hallmark "melting watches" that first appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. The idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to Dali when he was staring at a runny piece of Camembert cheese on a hot August day. The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works. It appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants, inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk, are portrayed "with long, multijointed, almost invisible legs of desire" along with obelisks on their backs. Coupled with the image of their brittle legs, these encumbrances, noted for their phallic overtones, create a sense of phantom reality. "The elephant is a distortion in space", one analysis explains, "its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure." "I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly." --Salvador Dali, in Dawn Ades, Dali and Surrealism. The egg is another common Daliesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love; it appears in The Great Masturbator and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus. The Metamorphosis of Narcissus also symbolized death and petrification. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dali's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres. Various other animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire; the snail is connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear. Both Dali and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaques. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dali, and he adapted its form to many art works. Other foods also appear throughout his work. CANNOTANSWER
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He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love;
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Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.
Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments.
Dalí's artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Biography
Early life
Salvador Dalí was born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am, on the first floor of Carrer Monturiol, 20 in the town of Figueres, in the Empordà region, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain. Dalí's older brother, who had also been named Salvador (born 12 October 1901), had died of gastroenteritis nine months earlier, on 1 August 1903. His father, Salvador Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí (1872–1950) was a middle-class lawyer and notary, an anti-clerical atheist and Catalan federalist, whose strict disciplinary approach was tempered by his wife, Felipa Domènech Ferrés (1874–1921), who encouraged her son's artistic endeavors. In the summer of 1912, the family moved to the top floor of Carrer Monturiol 24 (presently 10). Dalí later attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes" to an "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descendants of the Moors.
Dalí was haunted by the idea of his dead brother throughout his life, mythologizing him in his writings and art. Dalí said of him, "[we] resembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections." He "was probably the first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute". Images of his brother would reappear in his later works, including Portrait of My Dead Brother (1963).
Dalí also had a sister, Anna Maria, who was three years younger. In 1949, she published a book about her brother, Dalí as Seen by His Sister.
His childhood friends included future FC Barcelona footballers Emili Sagi-Barba and Josep Samitier. During holidays at the Catalan resort town of Cadaqués, the trio played football together.
Dalí attended the Municipal Drawing School at Figueres in 1916 and also discovered modern painting on a summer vacation trip to Cadaqués with the family of Ramon Pichot, a local artist who made regular trips to Paris. The next year, Dalí's father organized an exhibition of his charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre in Figueres in 1918, a site he would return to decades later. In early 1921 the Pichot family introduced Dalí to Futurism and Dalí's uncle Anselm Domènech, who owned a bookshop in Barcelona, supplied him with books and magazines on Cubism and contemporary art.
On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer. Dalí was 16 years old and later said his mother's death "was the greatest blow I had experienced in my life. I worshipped her... I could not resign myself to the loss of a being on whom I counted to make invisible the unavoidable blemishes of my soul." After his wife's death, Dalí's father married her sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt.
Madrid, Barcelona and Paris
In 1922, Dalí moved into the Residencia de Estudiantes (Students' Residence) in Madrid and studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts). A lean tall, Dalí already drew attention as an eccentric and dandy. He had long hair and sideburns, coat, stockings, and knee-breeches in the style of English aesthetes of the late 19th century.
At the Residencia, he became close friends with Pepín Bello, Luis Buñuel, Federico García Lorca, and others associated with the Madrid avant-garde group Ultra. The friendship with Lorca had a strong element of mutual passion, but Dalí said he rejected the poet's sexual advances. Dalí's friendship with Lorca was to remain one of his most emotionally intense relationships until the poet's death at the hands of Nationalist forces in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
Also in 1922, he began what would become a lifelong relationship with the Prado Museum, which he felt was, 'incontestably the best museum of old paintings in the world.' Each Sunday morning, Dalí went to the Prado to study the works of the great masters. 'This was the start of a monk-like period for me, devoted entirely to solitary work: visits to the Prado, where, pencil in hand, I analyzed all of the great masterpieces, studio work, models, research.'
Dalí's paintings in which he experimented with Cubism earned him the most attention from his fellow students since there were no Cubist artists in Madrid at the time. Cabaret Scene (1922) is a typical example of such work. Through his association with members of the Ultra group, Dalí became more acquainted with avant-garde movements, including Dada and Futurism. One of his earliest works to show a strong Futurist and Cubist influence was the watercolor Night-Walking Dreams (1922). At this time, Dalí also read Freud and Lautréamont who were to have a profound influence on his work.
In May 1925 Dalí exhibited eleven works in a group exhibition held by the newly formed Sociedad Ibérica de Artistas in Madrid. Seven of the works were in his Cubist mode and four in a more realist style. Several leading critics praised Dalí's work. Dalí held his first solo exhibition at Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona, from 14 to 27 November 1925. This exhibition, before his exposure to Surrealism, included twenty-two works and was a critical and commercial success.
In April 1926 Dalí made his first trip to Paris where he met Pablo Picasso, whom he revered. Picasso had already heard favorable reports about Dalí from Joan Miró, a fellow Catalan who later introduced him to many Surrealist friends. As he developed his own style over the next few years, Dalí made some works strongly influenced by Picasso and Miró. Dalí was also influenced by the work of Yves Tanguy, and he later allegedly told Tanguy's niece, "I pinched everything from your uncle Yves."
Dalí left the Royal Academy in 1926, shortly before his final exams. His mastery of painting skills at that time was evidenced by his realistic The Basket of Bread, painted in 1926.
Later that year he exhibited again at Galeries Dalmau, from 31 December 1926 to 14 January 1927, with the support of the art critic . The show included twenty-three paintings and seven drawings, with the "Cubist" works displayed in a separate section from the "objective" works. The critical response was generally positive with Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) singled out for particular attention.
From 1927 Dalí's work became increasingly influenced by Surrealism. Two of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927) and Gadget and Hand (1927), were shown at the annual Autumn Salon (Saló de tardor) in Barcelona in October 1927. Dalí described the earlier of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood, as "equidistant between Cubism and Surrealism". The works featured many elements that were to become characteristic of his Surrealist period including dreamlike images, precise draftsmanship, idiosyncratic iconography (such as rotting donkeys and dismembered bodies), and lighting and landscapes strongly evocative of his native Catalonia. The works provoked bemusement among the public and debate among critics about whether Dalí had become a Surrealist.
Influenced by his reading of Freud, Dalí increasingly introduced suggestive sexual imagery and symbolism into his work. He submitted Dialogue on the Beach (Unsatisfied Desires) (1928) to the Barcelona Autumn Salon for 1928 but the work was rejected because "it was not fit to be exhibited in any gallery habitually visited by the numerous public little prepared for certain surprises." The resulting scandal was widely covered in the Barcelona press and prompted a popular Madrid illustrated weekly to publish an interview with Dalí.
Some trends in Dalí's work that would continue throughout his life were already evident in the 1920s. Dalí was influenced by many styles of art, ranging from the most academically classic, to the most cutting-edge avant-garde. His classical influences included Raphael, Bronzino, Francisco de Zurbarán, Vermeer and Velázquez. Exhibitions of his works attracted much attention and a mixture of praise and puzzled debate from critics who noted an apparent inconsistency in his work by the use of both traditional and modern techniques and motifs between works and within individual works.
In the mid-1920s Dalí grew a neatly trimmed mustache. In later decades he cultivated a more flamboyant one in the manner of 17th-century Spanish master painter Diego Velázquez, and this mustache became a well known Dalí icon.
1929 to World War II
In 1929, Dalí collaborated with Surrealist film director Luis Buñuel on the short film (An Andalusian Dog). His main contribution was to help Buñuel write the script for the film. Dalí later claimed to have also played a significant role in the filming of the project, but this is not substantiated by contemporary accounts. In August 1929, Dalí met his lifelong muse and future wife Gala, born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. She was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who at that time was married to Surrealist poet Paul Éluard.
In works such as The First Days of Spring, The Great Masturbator and The Lugubrious Game Dalí continued his exploration of the themes of sexual anxiety and unconscious desires. Dalí's first Paris exhibition was at the recently opened Goemans Gallery in November 1929 and featured eleven works. In his preface to the catalog, André Breton described Dalí's new work as "the most hallucinatory that has been produced up to now". The exhibition was a commercial success but the critical response was divided. In the same year, Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The Surrealists hailed what Dalí was later to call his paranoiac-critical method of accessing the subconscious for greater artistic creativity.
Meanwhile, Dalí's relationship with his father was close to rupture. Don Salvador Dalí y Cusi strongly disapproved of his son's romance with Gala and saw his connection to the Surrealists as a bad influence on his morals. The final straw was when Don Salvador read in a Barcelona newspaper that his son had recently exhibited in Paris a drawing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, with a provocative inscription: "Sometimes, I spit for fun on my mother's portrait". Outraged, Don Salvador demanded that his son recant publicly. Dalí refused, perhaps out of fear of expulsion from the Surrealist group, and was violently thrown out of his paternal home on 28 December 1929. His father told him that he would be disinherited and that he should never set foot in Cadaqués again. The following summer, Dalí and Gala rented a small fisherman's cabin in a nearby bay at Port Lligat. He soon bought the cabin, and over the years enlarged it by buying neighboring ones, gradually building his beloved villa by the sea. Dalí's father would eventually relent and come to accept his son's companion.
In 1931, Dalí painted one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, which developed a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic. This idea is supported by other images in the work, such as the wide expanding landscape, and other limp watches shown being devoured by ants.
Dalí had two important exhibitions at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris in June 1931 and May–June 1932. The earlier exhibition included sixteen paintings of which The Persistence of Memory attracted the most attention. Some of the notable features of the exhibitions were the proliferation of images and references to Dalí's muse Gala and the inclusion of Surrealist Objects such as Hypnagogic Clock and Clock Based on the Decomposition of Bodies. Dalí's last, and largest, the exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery was held in June 1933 and included twenty-two paintings, ten drawings, and two objects. One critic noted Dalí's precise draftsmanship and attention to detail, describing him as a "paranoiac of geometrical temperament". Dalí's first New York exhibition was held at Julien Levy's gallery in November–December 1933. The exhibition featured twenty-six works and was a commercial and critical success. The New Yorker critic praised the precision and lack of sentimentality in the works, calling them "frozen nightmares".
Dalí and Gala, having lived together since 1929, were civilly married on 30 January 1934 in Paris. They later remarried in a Church ceremony on 8 August 1958 at Sant Martí Vell. In addition to inspiring many artworks throughout her life, Gala would act as Dalí's business manager, supporting their extravagant lifestyle while adeptly steering clear of insolvency. Gala, who herself engaged in extra-marital affairs, seemed to tolerate Dalí's dalliances with younger muses, secure in her own position as his primary relationship. Dalí continued to paint her as they both aged, producing sympathetic and adoring images of her. The "tense, complex and ambiguous relationship" lasting over 50 years would later become the subject of an opera, Jo, Dalí (I, Dalí) by Catalan composer Xavier Benguerel.
Dalí's first visit to the United States in November 1934 attracted widespread press coverage. His second New York exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery in November–December 1934 and was again a commercial and critical success. Dalí delivered three lectures on Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and other venues during which he told his audience for the first time that "[t]he only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." The heiress Caresse Crosby, the inventor of the brassiere, organized a farewell fancy dress ball for Dalí on 18 January 1935. Dalí wore a glass case on his chest containing a brassiere and Gala dressed as a woman giving birth through her head. A Paris newspaper later claimed that the Dalís had dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper, a claim which Dalí denied.
While the majority of the Surrealist group had become increasingly associated with leftist politics, Dalí maintained an ambiguous position on the subject of the proper relationship between politics and art. Leading Surrealist André Breton accused Dalí of defending the "new" and "irrational" in "the Hitler phenomenon", but Dalí quickly rejected this claim, saying, "I am Hitlerian neither in fact nor intention". Dalí insisted that Surrealism could exist in an apolitical context and refused to explicitly denounce fascism. Later in 1934, Dalí was subjected to a "trial", in which he narrowly avoided being expelled from the Surrealist group. To this, Dalí retorted, "The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist."
In 1936, Dalí took part in the London International Surrealist Exhibition. His lecture, titled , was delivered while wearing a deep-sea diving suit and helmet. He had arrived carrying a billiard cue and leading a pair of Russian wolfhounds and had to have the helmet unscrewed as he gasped for breath. He commented that "I just wanted to show that I was 'plunging deeply into the human mind."
Dalí's first solo London exhibition was held at the Alex, Reid, and Lefevre Gallery the same year. The show included twenty-nine paintings and eighteen drawings. The critical response was generally favorable, although the Daily Telegraph critic wrote: "These pictures from the subconscious reveal so skilled a craftsman that the artist's return to full consciousness may be awaited with interest."
In December 1936 Dalí participated in the Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism exhibition at MoMA and a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Both exhibitions attracted large attendances and widespread press coverage. The painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936) attracted particular attention. Dalí later described it as, "a vast human body breaking out into monstrous excrescences of arms and legs tearing at one another in a delirium of auto-strangulation". On 14 December, Dalí, aged 32, was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
From 1933 Dalí was supported by Zodiac, a group of affluent admirers who each contributed to a monthly stipend for the painter in exchange for a painting of their choice. From 1936 Dalí's main patron in London was the wealthy Edward James who would support him financially for two years. One of Dalí's most important paintings from the period of James' patronage was The Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937). They also collaborated on two of the most enduring icons of the Surrealist movement: the Lobster Telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa.
Dalí was in London when the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936. When he later learned that his friend Lorca had been executed by Nationalist forces, Dalí's claimed response was to shout: "Olé!" Dalí was to include frequent references to the poet in his art and writings for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic for the duration of the conflict.
In January 1938, Dalí unveiled Rainy Taxi, a three-dimensional artwork consisting of an automobile and two mannequin occupants being soaked with rain from within the taxi. The piece was first displayed at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris at the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard. The Exposition was designed by artist Marcel Duchamp, who also served as host.
In March that year, Dalí met Sigmund Freud thanks to Stefan Zweig. As Dalí sketched Freud's portrait, Freud whispered, "That boy looks like a fanatic." Dalí was delighted upon hearing later about this comment from his hero. The following day Freud wrote to Zweig "...until now I have been inclined to regard the Surrealists, who have apparently adopted me as their patron saint, as complete fools.....That young Spaniard, with his candid fanatical eyes and his undeniable technical mastery, has changed my estimate. It would indeed be very interesting to investigate analytically how he came to create that picture [i.e. Metamorphosis of Narcissus]."
In September 1938, Salvador Dalí was invited by Gabrielle Coco Chanel to her house "La Pausa" in Roquebrune on the French Riviera. There he painted numerous paintings he later exhibited at Julien Levy Gallery in New York. This exhibition in March–April 1939 included twenty-one paintings and eleven drawings. Life reported that no exhibition in New York had been so popular since Whistler's Mother was shown in 1934.
At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Dalí debuted his Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion, located in the Amusements Area of the exposition. It featured bizarre sculptures, statues, mermaids, and live nude models in "costumes" made of fresh seafood, an event photographed by Horst P. Horst, George Platt Lynes, and Murray Korman. Dalí was angered by changes to his designs, railing against mediocrities who thought that "a woman with the tail of a fish is possible; a woman with the head of a fish impossible."
Soon after Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939, Dalí wrote to Luis Buñuel denouncing socialism and Marxism and praising Catholicism and the Falange. As a result, Buñuel broke off relations with Dalí.
In the May issue of the Surrealist magazine Minotaure, André Breton announced Dalí's expulsion from the Surrealist group, claiming that Dalí had espoused race war and that the over-refinement of his paranoiac-critical method was a repudiation of Surrealist automatism. This led many Surrealists to break off relations with Dalí. In 1949 Breton coined the derogatory nickname "Avida Dollars" (avid for dollars), an anagram for "Salvador Dalí". This was a derisive reference to the increasing commercialization of Dalí's work, and the perception that Dalí sought self-aggrandizement through fame and fortune.
World War II
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 saw the Dalís in France. Following the German invasion, they were able to escape because on 20 June 1940 they were issued visas by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France. They crossed into Portugal and subsequently sailed on the Excambion from Lisbon to New York in August 1940. Dalí and Gala were to live in the United States for eight years, splitting their time between New York and the Monterey Peninsula, California.
Dalí spent the winter of 1940–41 at Hampton Manor, the residence of Caresse Crosby, in Caroline County, Virginia, where he worked on various projects including his autobiography and paintings for his upcoming exhibition.
Dalí announced the death of the Surrealist movement and the return of classicism in his exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in April–May 1941. The exhibition included nineteen paintings (among them Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire and The Face of War) and other works. In his catalog essay and media comments, Dalí proclaimed a return to form, control, structure and the Golden Section. Sales however were disappointing and the majority of critics did not believe there had been a major change in Dalí's work.
The Museum of Modern Art held two major, simultaneous retrospectives of Dali and Joan Miró from November 1941 to February 1942, Dalí being represented by forty-two paintings and sixteen drawings. Dalí's work attracted significant attention of critics and the exhibition later toured eight American cities, enhancing his reputation in America.
In October 1942, Dalí's autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí was published simultaneously in New York and London and was reviewed widely by the press. Time magazine's reviewer called it "one of the most irresistible books of the year". George Orwell later wrote a scathing review in the Saturday Book. A passage in the autobiography in which Dalí claimed that Buñuel was solely responsible for the anti-clericalism in the film L'Age d'Or may have indirectly led to Buñuel resigning his position at MoMA in 1943 under pressure from the State Department. Dalí also published a novel Hidden Faces in 1944 with less critical and commercial success.
In the catalog essay for his exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery in New York in 1943 Dalí continued his attack on the Surrealist movement, writing: "Surrealism will at least have served to give experimental proof that total sterility and attempts at automatizations have gone too far and have led to a totalitarian system. ... Today's laziness and the total lack of technique have reached their paroxysm in the psychological signification of the current use of the college [collage]". The critical response to the society portraits in the exhibition, however, was generally negative.
In November–December 1945 Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery in New York. The exhibition included eleven oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and illustrations. Works included Basket of Bread, Atomic and Uranian Melancholic Ideal, and My Wife Nude Contemplating her own Body Transformed into Steps, the Three Vertebrae of a Column, Sky and Architecture. The exhibition was notable for works in Dalí's new classicism style and those heralding his "atomic period".
During the war years, Dalí was also engaged in projects in various other fields. He executed designs for a number of ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, and The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944). In 1945 he created the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound. He also produced artwork and designs for products such as perfumes, cosmetics, hosiery and ties.
Post War in United States (1946–48)
In 1946 Dalí worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on an unfinished animated film Destino.
Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery from November 1947 to January 1948. The 14 oil paintings and other works in the exhibition reflected Dalí's increasing interest in atomic physics. Notable works included Dematerialization Near the Nose of Nero (The Separation of the Atom), Intra-Atomic Equilibrium of a Swan's Feather, and a study for Leda Atomica. The proportions of the latter work were worked out in collaboration with a mathematician.
In early 1948 Dalí's 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship was published. The book was a mixture of anecdotes, practical advice on painting, and Dalínian polemics.
Later years in Spain
In 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near Cadaqués. For the next three decades, they would spend most of their time there, spending winters in Paris and New York. Dalí's decision to live in Spain under Franco and his public support for the regime prompted outrage from many anti-Francoist artists and intellectuals. Pablo Picasso refused to mention Dalí's name or acknowledge his existence for the rest of his life. In 1960, André Breton unsuccessfully fought against the inclusion of Dalí's Sistine Madonna in the Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanter's Domain exhibition organized by Marcel Duchamp in New York. Breton and other Surrealists issued a tract to coincide with the exhibition denouncing Dalí as "the ex-apologist of Hitler... and friend of Franco".
In December 1949 Dalí's sister Anna Maria published her book Salvador Dalí Seen by his Sister. Dalí was angered by passages that he considered derogatory towards his wife Gala and broke off relations with his family. When Dalí's father died in September 1950 Dalí learned that he had been virtually disinherited in his will. A two-year legal dispute followed over paintings and drawings Dalí had left in his family home, during which Dalí was accused of assaulting a public notary.
As Dalí moved further towards embracing Catholicism he introduced more religious iconography and themes in his painting. In 1949 he painted a study for The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949) and showed it to Pope Pius XII during an audience arranged to discuss Dalí 's marriage to Gala. This work was a precursor to the phase Dalí dubbed "Nuclear Mysticism," a fusion of Einsteinian physics, classicism, and Catholic mysticism. In paintings such as The Madonna of Port Lligat, The Christ of Saint John on the Cross and The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics. His later Nuclear Mysticism works included La Gare de Perpignan (1965) and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968–70).
Dalí's keen interest in natural science and mathematics was further manifested by the proliferation of images of DNA and rhinoceros horn shapes in works from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. Dalí was also fascinated by the Tesseract (a four-dimensional cube), using it, for example, in Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).
Dalí had been extensively using optical illusions such as double images, anamorphosis, negative space, visual puns and trompe-l'œil since his Surrealist period and this continued in his later work. At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in Port Lligat. He made extensive use of it to study foreshortening, both from above and from below, incorporating dramatic perspectives of figures and objects into his paintings. He also experimented with the bulletist technique pointillism, enlarged half-tone dot grids and stereoscopic images. He was among the first artists to employ holography in an artistic manner. In Dalí's later years, young artists such as Andy Warhol proclaimed him an important influence on pop art.
In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre-Museum in his home town of Figueres. It was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through to 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s.
In 1955 Dalí met Nanita Kalaschnikoff, who was to become a close friend, muse, and model. At a French nightclub in 1965 Dalí met Amanda Lear, a fashion model then known as Peki Oslo. Lear became his protégée and one of his muses. According to Lear, she and Dalí were united in a "spiritual marriage" on a deserted mountaintop.
Final years and death
In 1968, Dalí bought a castle in Púbol for Gala, and from 1971 she would retreat there for weeks at a time, Dalí having agreed not to visit without her written permission. His fears of abandonment and estrangement from his longtime artistic muse contributed to depression and failing health.
In 1980, at age 76, Dalí's health deteriorated sharply and he was treated for depression, drug addiction, and Parkinson-like symptoms, including a severe tremor in his right arm. There were also allegations that Gala had been supplying Dalí with pharmaceuticals from her own prescriptions.
Gala died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 87. After her death, Dalí moved from Figueres to the castle in Púbol, where she was entombed.
In 1982, King Juan Carlos bestowed on Dalí the title of Marqués de Dalí de Púbol (Marquess of Dalí of Púbol) in the nobility of Spain, Púbol being where Dalí then lived. The title was initially hereditary, but at Dalí's request was changed to life-only in 1983.
In May 1983, what was said to be Dalí's last painting, The Swallow's Tail, was revealed. The work was heavily influenced by the mathematical catastrophe theory of René Thom. However, some critics have questioned how Dalí could have executed a painting with such precision given the severe tremor in his painting arm.
From early 1984 Dalí's depression worsened and he refused food, leading to severe undernourishment. Dalí had previously stated his intention to put himself into a state of suspended animation as he had read that some microorganisms could do. In August 1984 a fire broke out in Dalí's bedroom and he was hospitalized with severe burns. Two judicial inquiries found that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and no findings of negligence were made. After his release from hospital Dalí moved to the Torre Galatea, an annex to the Dalí Theatre-Museum.
There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that could later be used in forgeries. It is also alleged that he knowingly sold otherwise-blank lithograph paper which he had signed, possibly producing over 50,000 such sheets from 1965 until his death. As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí.
In July 1986, Dalí had a pacemaker implanted. On his return to his Theatre-Museum he made a brief public appearance, saying:
In November 1988, Dalí entered hospital with heart failure. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí. Dalí gave the king a drawing, Head of Europa, which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing.
On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The location is across the street from the church of Sant Pere, where he had his baptism, first communion, and funeral, and is only from the house where he was born.
The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate. The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the Artists Rights Society.
Exhumation
On 26 June 2017 it was announced that a judge in Madrid had ordered the exhumation of Dalí's body in order to obtain samples for a paternity suit. Joan Manuel Sevillano, manager of the Fundación Gala Salvador Dalí (The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation), denounced the exhumation as inappropriate. The exhumation took place on the evening of 20 July, and his DNA was extracted. On 6 September 2017 the Foundation stated that the tests carried out proved conclusively that Dalí and the claimant were not related. On 18 May 2020 a Spanish court dismissed an appeal from the claimant and ordered her to pay the costs of the exhumation.
Symbolism
From the late 1920s, Dalí progressively introduced many bizarre or incongruous images into his work which invite symbolic interpretation. While some of these images suggest a straightforward sexual or Freudian interpretation (Dalí read Freud in the 1920s) others (such as locusts, rotting donkeys, and sea urchins) are idiosyncratic and have been variously interpreted. Some commentators have cautioned that Dalí's own comments on these images are not always reliable.
Food
Food and eating have a central place in Dalí's thoughts and work. He associated food with beauty and sex and was obsessed with the image of the female praying mantis eating her mate after copulation. Bread was a recurring image in Dalí's art, from his early work The Basket of Bread to later public performances such as in 1958 when he gave a lecture in Paris armed with a 12-meter-long baguette. He saw bread as "the elementary basis of continuity" and "sacred subsistence".
The egg is another common Dalínian image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love. It appears in The Great Masturbator, The Metamorphosis of Narcissus and many other works. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dalí's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres.
Both Dalí and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaqués. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dalí, and he adapted its form to many artworks. Other foods also appear throughout his work.
The famous "melting watches" that appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. Dalí later claimed that the idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to him when he was contemplating Camembert cheese.
Animals
The rhinoceros and rhinoceros horn shapes began to proliferate in Dalí's work from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary. However, he also used it as an obvious phallic symbol as in Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity.
Various other animals appear throughout Dalí's work: rotting donkeys and ants have been interpreted as pointing to death, decay, and sexual desire; the snail as connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts as a symbol of waste and fear. The elephant is also a recurring image in his work; for example, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants are inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk.
Science
Dalí's life-long interest in science and mathematics was often reflected in his work. His soft watches have been interpreted as references to Einstein's theory of the relativity of time and space. Images of atomic particles appeared in his work soon after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and strands of D.N.A. appeared from the mid-1950s. In 1958 he wrote in his Anti-Matter Manifesto: "In the Surrealist period, I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world and the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud. Today, the exterior world and that of physics have transcended the one of psychology. My father today is Dr. Heisenberg."
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954) harks back to The Persistence of Memory (1931) and in portraying that painting in fragmentation and disintegration has been interpreted as a reference to Heisenberg's quantum mechanics.
Endeavors outside painting
Dalí was a versatile artist. Some of his more popular works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theater, fashion, and photography, among other areas.
Sculptures and other objects
From the early 1930s, Dalí was an enthusiastic proponent of the proliferation of three-dimensional Surrealist Objects to subvert perceptions of conventional reality, writing: "museums will fast fill with objects whose uselessness, size and crowding will necessitate the construction, in deserts, of special towers to contain them." His more notable early objects include Board of Demented Associations (1930–31), Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933), Venus de Milo with Chest of Drawers (1936) and Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket (1936). Two of the most popular objects of the Surrealist movement were Lobster Telephone (1936) and Mae West Lips Sofa (1937) which were commissioned by art patron Edward James. Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for Dalí who drew a close analogy between food and sex. The telephone was functional, and James purchased four of them from Dalí to replace the phones in his home. The Mae West Lips Sofa was shaped after the lips of actress Mae West, who was previously the subject of Dalí's watercolor, The Face of Mae West which may be used as a Surrealist Apartment (1934–35). In December 1936 Dalí sent Harpo Marx a Christmas present of a harp with barbed-wire strings.
After World War II Dalí authorized many sculptures derived from his most famous works and images. In his later years other sculptures also appeared, often in large editions, whose authenticity has sometimes been questioned.
Between 1941 and 1970, Dalí created an ensemble of 39 pieces of jewelry, many of which are intricate, some containing moving parts. The most famous assemblage, The Royal Heart, is made of gold and is encrusted with 46 rubies, 42 diamonds, and four emeralds, created in such a way that the center "beats" like a heart.
Dalí ventured into industrial design in the 1970s with a 500-piece run of Suomi tableware by Timo Sarpaneva that Dalí decorated for the German Rosenthal porcelain maker's "Studio Linie". In 1969 he designed the Chupa Chups logo. He facilitated the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and created a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Theater and film
In theater, Dalí designed the scenery for Federico García Lorca's 1927 romantic play Mariana Pineda. For Bacchanale (1939), a ballet based on and set to the music of Richard Wagner's 1845 opera Tannhäuser, Dalí provided both the set design and the libretto. He executed designs for a number of other ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944) and The Three-Cornered Hat (1949).
Dalí became interested in film when he was young, going to the theater most Sundays. By the late 1920s he was fascinated by the potential of film to reveal "the unlimited fantasy born of things themselves" and went on to collaborate with the director Luis Buñuel on two Surrealist films: the 17-minute short Un Chien Andalou (1929) and the feature film L'Age d'Or (1930). Dalí and Buñuel agree that they jointly developed the script and imagery of Un Chien Andalou, but there is controversy over the extent of Dalí's contribution to L'Age d'Or. Un Chien Andalou features a graphic opening scene of a human eyeball being slashed with a razor and develops surreal imagery and irrational discontinuities in time and space to produce a dreamlike quality. L'Age d'Or is more overtly anti-clerical and anti-establishment, and was banned after right-wing groups staged a riot in the Parisian theater where it was being shown. Summarizing the impact of these two films on the Surrealist film movement, one commentator has stated: "If Un Chien Andalou stands as the supreme record of Surrealism's adventures into the realm of the unconscious, then L'Âge d'Or is perhaps the most trenchant and implacable expression of its revolutionary intent."
After he collaborated with Buñuel, Dalí worked on several unrealized film projects including a published script for a film, Babaouo (1932); a scenario for Harpo Marx called Giraffes on Horseback Salad (1937); and an abandoned dream sequence for the film Moontide (1942). In 1945 Dalí created the dream sequence in Hitchcock's Spellbound, but neither Dalí nor the director was satisfied with the result. Dalí also worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on the short film Destino in 1946. After initially being abandoned, the animated film was completed in 2003 by Baker Bloodworth and Walt Disney's nephew Roy E. Disney. Between 1954 and 1961 Dalí worked with photographer Robert Descharnes on The Prodigious History of the Lacemaker and the Rhinoceros, but the film was never completed.
In the 1960s Dalí worked with some directors on documentary and performance films including with Philippe Halsman on Chaos and Creation (1960), Jack Bond on Dalí in New York (1966) and Jean-Christophe Averty on Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dalí (1966).
Dalí collaborated with director José-Montes Baquer on the pseudo-documentary film Impressions of Upper Mongolia (1975), in which Dalí narrates a story about an expedition in search of giant hallucinogenic mushrooms. In the mid-1970s film director Alejandro Jodorowsky initially cast Dalí in the role of the Padishah Emperor in a production of Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. However, Jodorowsky changed his mind after Dalí publicly supported the execution of alleged ETA terrorists in December 1975. The film was ultimately never made.
In 1972 Dalí began to write the scenario for an opera-poem called Être Dieu (To Be God). The Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán wrote the libretto and Igor Wakhévitch the music. The opera poem was recorded in Paris in 1974 with Dalí in the role of the protagonist.
Fashion and photography
Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli worked with Dalí from the 1930s and commissioned him to produce a white dress with a lobster print. Other designs Dalí made for her include a shoe-shaped hat and a pink belt with lips for a buckle. He was also involved in creating textile designs and perfume bottles. In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.
Photographers with whom he collaborated include Man Ray, Brassaï, Cecil Beaton, and Philippe Halsman. Halsman produced the Dalí Atomica series (1948) – inspired by Dalí's painting Leda Atomica – which in one photograph depicts "a painter's easel, three cats, a bucket of water, and Dalí himself floating in the air".
Architecture
Dalí's architectural achievements include his Port Lligat house near Cadaqués, as well as his Theatre Museum in Figueres. A major work outside of Spain was the temporary Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which contained several unusual sculptures and statues, including live performers posing as statues.
Literary works
In his only novel, Hidden Faces (1944), Dalí describes the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolizes the decadence of the 1930s. The Comte de Grandsailles and Solange de Cléda pursue a love affair, but interwar political turmoil and other vicissitudes drive them apart. It is variously set in Paris, rural France, Casablanca in North Africa, and Palm Springs in the United States. Secondary characters include aging widow Barbara Rogers, her bisexual daughter Veronica, Veronica's sometime female lover Betka, and Baba, a disfigured U.S. fighter pilot. The novel was written in New York, and translated by Haakon Chevalier.
His other literary works include The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942), Diary of a Genius (1966), and Oui: The Paranoid-Critical Revolution (1971). Dalí also published poetry, essays, art criticism, and a technical manual on art.
Graphic arts
Dalí worked extensively in the graphic arts, producing many drawings, etchings, and lithographs. Among the most notable of these works are forty etchings for an edition of Lautréamont's The Songs of Maldoror (1933) and eighty drypoint reworkings of Goya's Caprichos (1973–77). From the 1960s, however, Dalí would often sell the rights to images but not be involved in the print production itself. In addition, a large number of fakes were produced in the 1980s and 1990s, thus further confusing the Dalí print market.
Book illustrations were an important part of Dalí's work throughout his career. His first book illustration was for the 1924 publication of the Catalan poem ("The Witches of Liers") by his friend and schoolmate, poet Carles Fages de Climent. His other notable book illustrations, apart from The Songs of Maldoror, include 101 watercolors and engravings for The Divine Comedy (1960) and 100 drawings and watercolors for The Arabian Nights (1964).
Politics and personality
Politics and religion
As a youth, Dalí identified as Communist, anti-monarchist and anti-clerical and in 1924 he was briefly imprisoned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship as a person "intensely liable to cause public disorder". When Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in 1929 his political activism initially intensified. In 1931, he became involved in the Workers' and Peasants' Front, delivering lectures at meetings and contributing to their party journal. However, as political divisions within the Surrealist group grew, Dalí soon developed a more apolitical stance, refusing to publicly denounce fascism. In 1934, Andre Breton accused him of being sympathetic to Hitler and Dalí narrowly avoided being expelled from the group. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic. However, immediately after Franco's victory in 1939, Dalí praised Catholicism and the Falange and was expelled from the Surrealist group.
After Dalí's return to his native Catalonia in 1948, he publicly supported Franco's regime and announced his return to the Catholic faith. Dalí was granted an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1949 and with Pope John XXIII in 1959. He had official meetings with General Franco in June 1956, October 1968, and May 1974. In 1968, Dalí stated that on Franco's death there should be no return to democracy and Spain should become an absolute monarchy. In September 1975, Dalí publicly supported Franco's decision to execute three alleged Basque terrorists and repeated his support for an absolute monarchy, adding: "Personally, I'm against freedom; I'm for the Holy Inquisition." In the following days, he fled to New York after his home in Port Lligat was stoned and he had received numerous death threats. When King Juan Carlos visited the ailing Dalí in August 1981, Dalí told him: "I have always been an anarchist and a monarchist."
Dalí espoused a mystical view of Catholicism and in his later years he claimed to be a Catholic and an agnostic. He was interested in the writings of the Jesuit priest and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin and his Omega Point theory. Dalí's painting Tuna Fishing (Homage to Meissonier) (1967) was inspired by his reading of Chardin.
Sexuality
Dalí's sexuality had a profound influence on his work. He stated that as a child he saw a book with graphic illustrations of venereal diseases and this provoked a life-long disgust of female genitalia and a fear of impotence and sexual intimacy. Dalí frequently stated that his main sexual activity involved voyeurism and masturbation and his preferred sexual orifice was the anus. Dalí said that his wife Gala was the only person with whom he had achieved complete coitus. From 1927 Dalí's work featured graphic and symbolic sexual images usually associated with other images evoking shame and disgust. Images of anality and excrement also abound in his work from this time. Some of the most notable works reflecting these themes include The First Days of Spring (1929), The Great Masturbator (1929), and The Lugubrious Game (1929). Several of Dalí's intimates in the 1960s and 1970s have stated that he would arrange for selected guests to perform choreographed sexual activities to aid his voyeurism and masturbation.
Personality
Dalí was renowned for his eccentric and ostentatious behavior throughout his career. In 1941, the Director of Exhibitions and Publications at MoMA wrote: "The fame of Salvador Dalí has been an issue of particular controversy for more than a decade...Dalí's conduct may have been undignified, but the greater part of his art is a matter of dead earnest." When Dalí was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 1979, one of his fellow academicians stated that he hoped Dalí would now abandon his "clowneries".
In 1936, at the premiere screening of Joseph Cornell's film Rose Hobart at Julien Levy's gallery in New York City, Dalí knocked over the projector in a rage. "My idea for a film is exactly that," he said shortly afterward, "I never wrote it down or told anyone, but it is as if he had stolen it!" In 1939, while working on a window display for Bonwit Teller, he became so enraged by unauthorized changes to his work that he pushed a display bathtub through a plate glass window. In 1955, he delivered a lecture at the Sorbonne, arriving in a Rolls Royce full of cauliflowers. To promote Robert Descharnes' 1962 book The World of Salvador Dalí, he appeared in a Manhattan bookstore on a bed, wired up to a machine that traced his brain waves and blood pressure. He would autograph books while thus monitored, and the book buyer would also be given the paper chart recording.
After World War II, Dalí became one of the most recognized artists in the world, and his long cape, walking stick, haughty expression, and upturned waxed mustache became icons of his brand. His boastfulness and public declarations of his genius became essential elements of the public Dalí persona: "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí".
Dalí frequently traveled with his pet ocelot Babou, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner SS France. He was also known to avoid paying at restaurants by executing drawings on the checks he wrote. His theory was the restaurant would never want to cash such a valuable piece of art, and he was usually correct.
Dalí's fame meant he was a frequent guest on television in Spain, France and the United States, including appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on 7 January 1963 The Mike Wallace Interview and the panel show What's My Line?. Dalí appeared on The Dick Cavett Show on 6 March 1970 carrying an anteater.
He also appeared in numerous advertising campaigns such for chocolates and Braniff International Airlines in 1968.
Legacy
Two major museums are devoted to Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Dalí's life and work have been an important influence on pop art, other Surrealists, and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. He has been portrayed on film by Robert Pattinson in Little Ashes (2008), and by Adrien Brody in Midnight in Paris (2011). The Salvador Dalí Desert in Bolivia and the Dalí crater on the planet Mercury are named for him.
The Spanish television series Money Heist (2017–2021) includes characters wearing a costume of red jumpsuits and Dalí masks. The creator of the series stated that the Dalí mask was chosen because it was an iconic Spanish image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation protested against the use of Dalí's image without the authorisation of the Dali estate. Following the popular success of the series, there were reports of people in various countries wearing the costume while participating in political protests, committing crimes or as fancy dress.
Honors
1964: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
1972: Associate member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
1978: Associate member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France
1981: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
1982: Created 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, by King Juan Carlos
List of selected works
Dalí produced over 1,600 paintings and numerous graphic works, sculptures, three-dimensional objects, and designs. Below is a sample of important and representative works.
Landscape Near Figueras (1910–14)
Vilabertran (1910–14)
Cabaret Scene (1922)
Night Walking Dreams (1922)
The Basket of Bread (1926)
Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) (1927)
Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927)
Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) (1929) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
The Lugubrious Game (1929)
The Great Masturbator (1929)
The First Days of Spring (1929)
L'Age d'Or (The Golden Age) (1930) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
Board of Demented Associations (1930–31) (Surrealist object)
Premature Ossification of a Railway Station (1931)
The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933) (mixed media sculpture collage)
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (c.1934)
Lobster Telephone (1936)
Venus de Milo with Drawers (1936)
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936)
Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937)
Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937)
The Burning Giraffe (1937)
Mae West Lips Sofa (1937)
Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach (1938)
Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time (1939)
Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire (1940)
The Face of War (also known as The Visage of the War) (1940)
Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man (1943)
Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (c.1944)
Basket of Bread – Rather Death than Shame (1945)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946)
The Elephants (1948) (also known as Project for "As You Like It")
Leda Atomica (1947–1949)
The Madonna of Port Lligat (1949)
Christ of Saint John of the Cross (also known as The Christ) (1951)
Galatea of the Spheres (1952) (also known as Gala Placidia)
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1952–54)
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) (c.1954) (also known as Hypercubic Christ)
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity (1954)
The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955)
Still Life Moving Fast (c. 1956) (also known as Fast-Moving Still Life)
The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (1958)
Perpignan Railway Station (c. 1965)
Tuna Fishing (1966–67)
The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1970)
Nieuw Amsterdam (1974 object/sculpture)
The Swallow's Tail (c.1983)
Dalí museums and permanent exhibitions
Dalí Theatre-Museum – Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, holds the largest collection of Dalí's work
Gala Dalí House-Museum – Castle of Púbol in Púbol, Catalonia, Spain
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum) – Madrid, Spain, holds a significant collection
Salvador Dalí House Museum – Port Lligat, Catalonia, Spain
Salvador Dalí Museum – St Petersburg, Florida, contains the collection of Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, and over 1500 works by Dalí, including seven large "masterworks"
Major temporary exhibitions
In 2018, a traveling museum exhibition focusing on Dalí's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy premiered at the Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana. The exhibition titled Salvador Dalí's Stairway to Heaven will be touring the United States through 2021.
Gallery
See also
List of Spanish artists
Salvador Dalí and Dance
References
Further reading
Important books by or about Salvador Dalí readily available in English include:
Ades, Dawn, Salvador Dalí, Thames and Hudson, 1995 (2nd ed.)
Dalí, Salvador, Oui: the paranoid-critical revolution: writings 1927–1933, (edited by Robert Descharnes, translated by Yvonne Shafir), Boston: Exact Change, 1998
Dalí, Salvador, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, New York, Dover, 1993 (translated by Haakon M. Chevalier, first published 1942)
Dalí, Salvador, The Diary of a Genius, London, Hutchinson, 1990 (translated by Richard Howard, first published 1964)
Dalí, Salvador, The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dalí, London, Quartet Books, 1977 (first published 1973)
Descharnes, Robert, Salvador Dalí (translated by Eleanor R. Morse), New York, Abradale Press, 1993
Gibson, Ian, The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí, London, Faber and Faber, 1997
Shanes, Eric, Salvador Dalí, Parkstone International, 2014
External links
Salvador Dalí on What's My Line?
Interview and bank advertisement.
A collection of interviews and footage of Dalí in the French television
Mike Wallace interviews Salvador Dalí Archived 15 December 2015. Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin
Panorama: Salvador Dali - Malcolm Muggeridge BBC interview, first transmitted 4 May 1955
Salvador Dalí at LletrA, Catalan Literature Online (Open University of Catalonia).
1904 births
1989 deaths
People from Figueres
Spanish artists
20th-century Spanish painters
Spanish male painters
Surrealist artists
Painters from Catalonia
Spanish illustrators
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Marquesses of Spain
Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium
Modern painters
Spanish printmakers
Spanish erotic artists
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish surrealist artists
Surrealist filmmakers
20th-century Spanish sculptors
20th-century male artists
Spanish male sculptors
Mathematical artists
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Federico García Lorca
1939 New York World's Fair artists
Spanish people of Arab descent
Spanish people of Jewish descent
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"The British Egg Industry Council is an organisation set up in 1986 to represent the British egg industry. It currently has 11 member organisations including the British Egg Products Association, the National Farmers Union and the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA). The BEIC operates the British Egg Information Service, which promotes the consumption of eggs to the public.\n\nLion Mark\n\nThe main marketing activity of the British Egg Information Service is the Lion Quality Mark scheme. This is a mark that can be stamped onto eggs by producers who are signed up to its Lion Quality Code of Practice. The code of practice requires that all laying hens must be vaccinated against Salmonella enteritidis and also places certain welfare, feeding, traceability and freshness standards upon producers. The Lion Mark however is not necessarily a sign that the eggs are organic or free range. As of 2009, the British Egg Information Service claims that 84% of eggs produced in the UK are produced to Lion standards.\n\nSee also\n Egg Marketing Board - Predecessor to the BEIC and the initial creator of the Lion Mark.\n\nExternal links\nBritish Egg Information Service\nEgg Recipes - British Lion eggs\nLion Mark scheme\nBritish Free Range Egg Producers Association\n\nReferences\n\nStandards organisations in the United Kingdom\nFood safety organizations\nAgricultural marketing organizations\nEgg organizations\nOrganizations established in 1986\n1986 establishments in the United Kingdom\nBritish food and drink organisations",
"The abbreviation BEIC may refer to:\nBiblioteca europea di informazione e cultura, a project in Milan, Italy\nEast India Company, aka the British East India Company, a former British joint stock company\nBritish Egg Industry Council, an organisation set up in 1986 to represent the British egg industry"
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"Salvador Dalí",
"Symbolism",
"What type of symbolism did Dali use?",
"The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works.",
"What did the elephant mean?",
"\"The elephant is a distortion in space\", one analysis explains, \"its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure.",
"Did Dali use any other forms of symbolism?",
"The egg is another common Daliesque image.",
"What did the egg represent?",
"He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love;"
] |
C_6b3cf6c103be4cff822da0ceaebbd6b1_0
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How did Dali come up with these symbolism ideas?
| 5 |
How did Salvador Dalí come up with the elephant and the egg as symbols?
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Salvador Dalí
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Dali employed extensive symbolism in his work. For instance, the hallmark "melting watches" that first appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. The idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to Dali when he was staring at a runny piece of Camembert cheese on a hot August day. The elephant is also a recurring image in Dali's works. It appeared in his 1944 work Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants, inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk, are portrayed "with long, multijointed, almost invisible legs of desire" along with obelisks on their backs. Coupled with the image of their brittle legs, these encumbrances, noted for their phallic overtones, create a sense of phantom reality. "The elephant is a distortion in space", one analysis explains, "its spindly legs contrasting the idea of weightlessness with structure." "I am painting pictures which make me die for joy, I am creating with an absolute naturalness, without the slightest aesthetic concern, I am making things that inspire me with a profound emotion and I am trying to paint them honestly." --Salvador Dali, in Dawn Ades, Dali and Surrealism. The egg is another common Daliesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love; it appears in The Great Masturbator and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus. The Metamorphosis of Narcissus also symbolized death and petrification. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dali's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dali Theatre and Museum in Figueres. Various other animals appear throughout his work as well: ants point to death, decay, and immense sexual desire; the snail is connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts are a symbol of waste and fear. Both Dali and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaques. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dali, and he adapted its form to many art works. Other foods also appear throughout his work. CANNOTANSWER
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CANNOTANSWER
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Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.
Born in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, Dalí received his formal education in fine arts in Madrid. Influenced by Impressionism and the Renaissance masters from a young age, he became increasingly attracted to Cubism and avant-garde movements. He moved closer to Surrealism in the late 1920s and joined the Surrealist group in 1929, soon becoming one of its leading exponents. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in August 1931, and is one of the most famous Surrealist paintings. Dalí lived in France throughout the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) before leaving for the United States in 1940 where he achieved commercial success. He returned to Spain in 1948 where he announced his return to the Catholic faith and developed his "nuclear mysticism" style, based on his interest in classicism, mysticism, and recent scientific developments.
Dalí's artistic repertoire included painting, graphic arts, film, sculpture, design and photography, at times in collaboration with other artists. He also wrote fiction, poetry, autobiography, essays and criticism. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships. To the dismay of those who held his work in high regard, and to the irritation of his critics, his eccentric and ostentatious public behavior often drew more attention than his artwork. His public support for the Francoist regime, his commercial activities and the quality and authenticity of some of his late works have also been controversial. His life and work were an important influence on other Surrealists, pop art and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
There are two major museums devoted to Salvador Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Biography
Early life
Salvador Dalí was born on 11 May 1904, at 8:45 am, on the first floor of Carrer Monturiol, 20 in the town of Figueres, in the Empordà region, close to the French border in Catalonia, Spain. Dalí's older brother, who had also been named Salvador (born 12 October 1901), had died of gastroenteritis nine months earlier, on 1 August 1903. His father, Salvador Rafael Aniceto Dalí Cusí (1872–1950) was a middle-class lawyer and notary, an anti-clerical atheist and Catalan federalist, whose strict disciplinary approach was tempered by his wife, Felipa Domènech Ferrés (1874–1921), who encouraged her son's artistic endeavors. In the summer of 1912, the family moved to the top floor of Carrer Monturiol 24 (presently 10). Dalí later attributed his "love of everything that is gilded and excessive, my passion for luxury and my love of oriental clothes" to an "Arab lineage", claiming that his ancestors were descendants of the Moors.
Dalí was haunted by the idea of his dead brother throughout his life, mythologizing him in his writings and art. Dalí said of him, "[we] resembled each other like two drops of water, but we had different reflections." He "was probably the first version of myself but conceived too much in the absolute". Images of his brother would reappear in his later works, including Portrait of My Dead Brother (1963).
Dalí also had a sister, Anna Maria, who was three years younger. In 1949, she published a book about her brother, Dalí as Seen by His Sister.
His childhood friends included future FC Barcelona footballers Emili Sagi-Barba and Josep Samitier. During holidays at the Catalan resort town of Cadaqués, the trio played football together.
Dalí attended the Municipal Drawing School at Figueres in 1916 and also discovered modern painting on a summer vacation trip to Cadaqués with the family of Ramon Pichot, a local artist who made regular trips to Paris. The next year, Dalí's father organized an exhibition of his charcoal drawings in their family home. He had his first public exhibition at the Municipal Theatre in Figueres in 1918, a site he would return to decades later. In early 1921 the Pichot family introduced Dalí to Futurism and Dalí's uncle Anselm Domènech, who owned a bookshop in Barcelona, supplied him with books and magazines on Cubism and contemporary art.
On 6 February 1921, Dalí's mother died of uterine cancer. Dalí was 16 years old and later said his mother's death "was the greatest blow I had experienced in my life. I worshipped her... I could not resign myself to the loss of a being on whom I counted to make invisible the unavoidable blemishes of my soul." After his wife's death, Dalí's father married her sister. Dalí did not resent this marriage, because he had great love and respect for his aunt.
Madrid, Barcelona and Paris
In 1922, Dalí moved into the Residencia de Estudiantes (Students' Residence) in Madrid and studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts). A lean tall, Dalí already drew attention as an eccentric and dandy. He had long hair and sideburns, coat, stockings, and knee-breeches in the style of English aesthetes of the late 19th century.
At the Residencia, he became close friends with Pepín Bello, Luis Buñuel, Federico García Lorca, and others associated with the Madrid avant-garde group Ultra. The friendship with Lorca had a strong element of mutual passion, but Dalí said he rejected the poet's sexual advances. Dalí's friendship with Lorca was to remain one of his most emotionally intense relationships until the poet's death at the hands of Nationalist forces in 1936 at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
Also in 1922, he began what would become a lifelong relationship with the Prado Museum, which he felt was, 'incontestably the best museum of old paintings in the world.' Each Sunday morning, Dalí went to the Prado to study the works of the great masters. 'This was the start of a monk-like period for me, devoted entirely to solitary work: visits to the Prado, where, pencil in hand, I analyzed all of the great masterpieces, studio work, models, research.'
Dalí's paintings in which he experimented with Cubism earned him the most attention from his fellow students since there were no Cubist artists in Madrid at the time. Cabaret Scene (1922) is a typical example of such work. Through his association with members of the Ultra group, Dalí became more acquainted with avant-garde movements, including Dada and Futurism. One of his earliest works to show a strong Futurist and Cubist influence was the watercolor Night-Walking Dreams (1922). At this time, Dalí also read Freud and Lautréamont who were to have a profound influence on his work.
In May 1925 Dalí exhibited eleven works in a group exhibition held by the newly formed Sociedad Ibérica de Artistas in Madrid. Seven of the works were in his Cubist mode and four in a more realist style. Several leading critics praised Dalí's work. Dalí held his first solo exhibition at Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona, from 14 to 27 November 1925. This exhibition, before his exposure to Surrealism, included twenty-two works and was a critical and commercial success.
In April 1926 Dalí made his first trip to Paris where he met Pablo Picasso, whom he revered. Picasso had already heard favorable reports about Dalí from Joan Miró, a fellow Catalan who later introduced him to many Surrealist friends. As he developed his own style over the next few years, Dalí made some works strongly influenced by Picasso and Miró. Dalí was also influenced by the work of Yves Tanguy, and he later allegedly told Tanguy's niece, "I pinched everything from your uncle Yves."
Dalí left the Royal Academy in 1926, shortly before his final exams. His mastery of painting skills at that time was evidenced by his realistic The Basket of Bread, painted in 1926.
Later that year he exhibited again at Galeries Dalmau, from 31 December 1926 to 14 January 1927, with the support of the art critic . The show included twenty-three paintings and seven drawings, with the "Cubist" works displayed in a separate section from the "objective" works. The critical response was generally positive with Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) singled out for particular attention.
From 1927 Dalí's work became increasingly influenced by Surrealism. Two of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927) and Gadget and Hand (1927), were shown at the annual Autumn Salon (Saló de tardor) in Barcelona in October 1927. Dalí described the earlier of these works, Honey is Sweeter than Blood, as "equidistant between Cubism and Surrealism". The works featured many elements that were to become characteristic of his Surrealist period including dreamlike images, precise draftsmanship, idiosyncratic iconography (such as rotting donkeys and dismembered bodies), and lighting and landscapes strongly evocative of his native Catalonia. The works provoked bemusement among the public and debate among critics about whether Dalí had become a Surrealist.
Influenced by his reading of Freud, Dalí increasingly introduced suggestive sexual imagery and symbolism into his work. He submitted Dialogue on the Beach (Unsatisfied Desires) (1928) to the Barcelona Autumn Salon for 1928 but the work was rejected because "it was not fit to be exhibited in any gallery habitually visited by the numerous public little prepared for certain surprises." The resulting scandal was widely covered in the Barcelona press and prompted a popular Madrid illustrated weekly to publish an interview with Dalí.
Some trends in Dalí's work that would continue throughout his life were already evident in the 1920s. Dalí was influenced by many styles of art, ranging from the most academically classic, to the most cutting-edge avant-garde. His classical influences included Raphael, Bronzino, Francisco de Zurbarán, Vermeer and Velázquez. Exhibitions of his works attracted much attention and a mixture of praise and puzzled debate from critics who noted an apparent inconsistency in his work by the use of both traditional and modern techniques and motifs between works and within individual works.
In the mid-1920s Dalí grew a neatly trimmed mustache. In later decades he cultivated a more flamboyant one in the manner of 17th-century Spanish master painter Diego Velázquez, and this mustache became a well known Dalí icon.
1929 to World War II
In 1929, Dalí collaborated with Surrealist film director Luis Buñuel on the short film (An Andalusian Dog). His main contribution was to help Buñuel write the script for the film. Dalí later claimed to have also played a significant role in the filming of the project, but this is not substantiated by contemporary accounts. In August 1929, Dalí met his lifelong muse and future wife Gala, born Elena Ivanovna Diakonova. She was a Russian immigrant ten years his senior, who at that time was married to Surrealist poet Paul Éluard.
In works such as The First Days of Spring, The Great Masturbator and The Lugubrious Game Dalí continued his exploration of the themes of sexual anxiety and unconscious desires. Dalí's first Paris exhibition was at the recently opened Goemans Gallery in November 1929 and featured eleven works. In his preface to the catalog, André Breton described Dalí's new work as "the most hallucinatory that has been produced up to now". The exhibition was a commercial success but the critical response was divided. In the same year, Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris. The Surrealists hailed what Dalí was later to call his paranoiac-critical method of accessing the subconscious for greater artistic creativity.
Meanwhile, Dalí's relationship with his father was close to rupture. Don Salvador Dalí y Cusi strongly disapproved of his son's romance with Gala and saw his connection to the Surrealists as a bad influence on his morals. The final straw was when Don Salvador read in a Barcelona newspaper that his son had recently exhibited in Paris a drawing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, with a provocative inscription: "Sometimes, I spit for fun on my mother's portrait". Outraged, Don Salvador demanded that his son recant publicly. Dalí refused, perhaps out of fear of expulsion from the Surrealist group, and was violently thrown out of his paternal home on 28 December 1929. His father told him that he would be disinherited and that he should never set foot in Cadaqués again. The following summer, Dalí and Gala rented a small fisherman's cabin in a nearby bay at Port Lligat. He soon bought the cabin, and over the years enlarged it by buying neighboring ones, gradually building his beloved villa by the sea. Dalí's father would eventually relent and come to accept his son's companion.
In 1931, Dalí painted one of his most famous works, The Persistence of Memory, which developed a surrealistic image of soft, melting pocket watches. The general interpretation of the work is that the soft watches are a rejection of the assumption that time is rigid or deterministic. This idea is supported by other images in the work, such as the wide expanding landscape, and other limp watches shown being devoured by ants.
Dalí had two important exhibitions at the Pierre Colle Gallery in Paris in June 1931 and May–June 1932. The earlier exhibition included sixteen paintings of which The Persistence of Memory attracted the most attention. Some of the notable features of the exhibitions were the proliferation of images and references to Dalí's muse Gala and the inclusion of Surrealist Objects such as Hypnagogic Clock and Clock Based on the Decomposition of Bodies. Dalí's last, and largest, the exhibition at the Pierre Colle Gallery was held in June 1933 and included twenty-two paintings, ten drawings, and two objects. One critic noted Dalí's precise draftsmanship and attention to detail, describing him as a "paranoiac of geometrical temperament". Dalí's first New York exhibition was held at Julien Levy's gallery in November–December 1933. The exhibition featured twenty-six works and was a commercial and critical success. The New Yorker critic praised the precision and lack of sentimentality in the works, calling them "frozen nightmares".
Dalí and Gala, having lived together since 1929, were civilly married on 30 January 1934 in Paris. They later remarried in a Church ceremony on 8 August 1958 at Sant Martí Vell. In addition to inspiring many artworks throughout her life, Gala would act as Dalí's business manager, supporting their extravagant lifestyle while adeptly steering clear of insolvency. Gala, who herself engaged in extra-marital affairs, seemed to tolerate Dalí's dalliances with younger muses, secure in her own position as his primary relationship. Dalí continued to paint her as they both aged, producing sympathetic and adoring images of her. The "tense, complex and ambiguous relationship" lasting over 50 years would later become the subject of an opera, Jo, Dalí (I, Dalí) by Catalan composer Xavier Benguerel.
Dalí's first visit to the United States in November 1934 attracted widespread press coverage. His second New York exhibition was held at the Julien Levy Gallery in November–December 1934 and was again a commercial and critical success. Dalí delivered three lectures on Surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and other venues during which he told his audience for the first time that "[t]he only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad." The heiress Caresse Crosby, the inventor of the brassiere, organized a farewell fancy dress ball for Dalí on 18 January 1935. Dalí wore a glass case on his chest containing a brassiere and Gala dressed as a woman giving birth through her head. A Paris newspaper later claimed that the Dalís had dressed as the Lindbergh baby and his kidnapper, a claim which Dalí denied.
While the majority of the Surrealist group had become increasingly associated with leftist politics, Dalí maintained an ambiguous position on the subject of the proper relationship between politics and art. Leading Surrealist André Breton accused Dalí of defending the "new" and "irrational" in "the Hitler phenomenon", but Dalí quickly rejected this claim, saying, "I am Hitlerian neither in fact nor intention". Dalí insisted that Surrealism could exist in an apolitical context and refused to explicitly denounce fascism. Later in 1934, Dalí was subjected to a "trial", in which he narrowly avoided being expelled from the Surrealist group. To this, Dalí retorted, "The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist."
In 1936, Dalí took part in the London International Surrealist Exhibition. His lecture, titled , was delivered while wearing a deep-sea diving suit and helmet. He had arrived carrying a billiard cue and leading a pair of Russian wolfhounds and had to have the helmet unscrewed as he gasped for breath. He commented that "I just wanted to show that I was 'plunging deeply into the human mind."
Dalí's first solo London exhibition was held at the Alex, Reid, and Lefevre Gallery the same year. The show included twenty-nine paintings and eighteen drawings. The critical response was generally favorable, although the Daily Telegraph critic wrote: "These pictures from the subconscious reveal so skilled a craftsman that the artist's return to full consciousness may be awaited with interest."
In December 1936 Dalí participated in the Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism exhibition at MoMA and a solo exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York. Both exhibitions attracted large attendances and widespread press coverage. The painting Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936) attracted particular attention. Dalí later described it as, "a vast human body breaking out into monstrous excrescences of arms and legs tearing at one another in a delirium of auto-strangulation". On 14 December, Dalí, aged 32, was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
From 1933 Dalí was supported by Zodiac, a group of affluent admirers who each contributed to a monthly stipend for the painter in exchange for a painting of their choice. From 1936 Dalí's main patron in London was the wealthy Edward James who would support him financially for two years. One of Dalí's most important paintings from the period of James' patronage was The Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937). They also collaborated on two of the most enduring icons of the Surrealist movement: the Lobster Telephone and the Mae West Lips Sofa.
Dalí was in London when the Spanish Civil War broke out in July 1936. When he later learned that his friend Lorca had been executed by Nationalist forces, Dalí's claimed response was to shout: "Olé!" Dalí was to include frequent references to the poet in his art and writings for the remainder of his life. Nevertheless, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic for the duration of the conflict.
In January 1938, Dalí unveiled Rainy Taxi, a three-dimensional artwork consisting of an automobile and two mannequin occupants being soaked with rain from within the taxi. The piece was first displayed at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris at the Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme, organized by André Breton and Paul Éluard. The Exposition was designed by artist Marcel Duchamp, who also served as host.
In March that year, Dalí met Sigmund Freud thanks to Stefan Zweig. As Dalí sketched Freud's portrait, Freud whispered, "That boy looks like a fanatic." Dalí was delighted upon hearing later about this comment from his hero. The following day Freud wrote to Zweig "...until now I have been inclined to regard the Surrealists, who have apparently adopted me as their patron saint, as complete fools.....That young Spaniard, with his candid fanatical eyes and his undeniable technical mastery, has changed my estimate. It would indeed be very interesting to investigate analytically how he came to create that picture [i.e. Metamorphosis of Narcissus]."
In September 1938, Salvador Dalí was invited by Gabrielle Coco Chanel to her house "La Pausa" in Roquebrune on the French Riviera. There he painted numerous paintings he later exhibited at Julien Levy Gallery in New York. This exhibition in March–April 1939 included twenty-one paintings and eleven drawings. Life reported that no exhibition in New York had been so popular since Whistler's Mother was shown in 1934.
At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Dalí debuted his Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion, located in the Amusements Area of the exposition. It featured bizarre sculptures, statues, mermaids, and live nude models in "costumes" made of fresh seafood, an event photographed by Horst P. Horst, George Platt Lynes, and Murray Korman. Dalí was angered by changes to his designs, railing against mediocrities who thought that "a woman with the tail of a fish is possible; a woman with the head of a fish impossible."
Soon after Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War in April 1939, Dalí wrote to Luis Buñuel denouncing socialism and Marxism and praising Catholicism and the Falange. As a result, Buñuel broke off relations with Dalí.
In the May issue of the Surrealist magazine Minotaure, André Breton announced Dalí's expulsion from the Surrealist group, claiming that Dalí had espoused race war and that the over-refinement of his paranoiac-critical method was a repudiation of Surrealist automatism. This led many Surrealists to break off relations with Dalí. In 1949 Breton coined the derogatory nickname "Avida Dollars" (avid for dollars), an anagram for "Salvador Dalí". This was a derisive reference to the increasing commercialization of Dalí's work, and the perception that Dalí sought self-aggrandizement through fame and fortune.
World War II
The outbreak of World War II in September 1939 saw the Dalís in France. Following the German invasion, they were able to escape because on 20 June 1940 they were issued visas by Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Portuguese consul in Bordeaux, France. They crossed into Portugal and subsequently sailed on the Excambion from Lisbon to New York in August 1940. Dalí and Gala were to live in the United States for eight years, splitting their time between New York and the Monterey Peninsula, California.
Dalí spent the winter of 1940–41 at Hampton Manor, the residence of Caresse Crosby, in Caroline County, Virginia, where he worked on various projects including his autobiography and paintings for his upcoming exhibition.
Dalí announced the death of the Surrealist movement and the return of classicism in his exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York in April–May 1941. The exhibition included nineteen paintings (among them Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire and The Face of War) and other works. In his catalog essay and media comments, Dalí proclaimed a return to form, control, structure and the Golden Section. Sales however were disappointing and the majority of critics did not believe there had been a major change in Dalí's work.
The Museum of Modern Art held two major, simultaneous retrospectives of Dali and Joan Miró from November 1941 to February 1942, Dalí being represented by forty-two paintings and sixteen drawings. Dalí's work attracted significant attention of critics and the exhibition later toured eight American cities, enhancing his reputation in America.
In October 1942, Dalí's autobiography, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí was published simultaneously in New York and London and was reviewed widely by the press. Time magazine's reviewer called it "one of the most irresistible books of the year". George Orwell later wrote a scathing review in the Saturday Book. A passage in the autobiography in which Dalí claimed that Buñuel was solely responsible for the anti-clericalism in the film L'Age d'Or may have indirectly led to Buñuel resigning his position at MoMA in 1943 under pressure from the State Department. Dalí also published a novel Hidden Faces in 1944 with less critical and commercial success.
In the catalog essay for his exhibition at the Knoedler Gallery in New York in 1943 Dalí continued his attack on the Surrealist movement, writing: "Surrealism will at least have served to give experimental proof that total sterility and attempts at automatizations have gone too far and have led to a totalitarian system. ... Today's laziness and the total lack of technique have reached their paroxysm in the psychological signification of the current use of the college [collage]". The critical response to the society portraits in the exhibition, however, was generally negative.
In November–December 1945 Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery in New York. The exhibition included eleven oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and illustrations. Works included Basket of Bread, Atomic and Uranian Melancholic Ideal, and My Wife Nude Contemplating her own Body Transformed into Steps, the Three Vertebrae of a Column, Sky and Architecture. The exhibition was notable for works in Dalí's new classicism style and those heralding his "atomic period".
During the war years, Dalí was also engaged in projects in various other fields. He executed designs for a number of ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, and The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944). In 1945 he created the dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound. He also produced artwork and designs for products such as perfumes, cosmetics, hosiery and ties.
Post War in United States (1946–48)
In 1946 Dalí worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on an unfinished animated film Destino.
Dalí exhibited new work at the Bignou Gallery from November 1947 to January 1948. The 14 oil paintings and other works in the exhibition reflected Dalí's increasing interest in atomic physics. Notable works included Dematerialization Near the Nose of Nero (The Separation of the Atom), Intra-Atomic Equilibrium of a Swan's Feather, and a study for Leda Atomica. The proportions of the latter work were worked out in collaboration with a mathematician.
In early 1948 Dalí's 50 Secrets of Magic Craftsmanship was published. The book was a mixture of anecdotes, practical advice on painting, and Dalínian polemics.
Later years in Spain
In 1948 Dalí and Gala moved back into their house in Port Lligat, on the coast near Cadaqués. For the next three decades, they would spend most of their time there, spending winters in Paris and New York. Dalí's decision to live in Spain under Franco and his public support for the regime prompted outrage from many anti-Francoist artists and intellectuals. Pablo Picasso refused to mention Dalí's name or acknowledge his existence for the rest of his life. In 1960, André Breton unsuccessfully fought against the inclusion of Dalí's Sistine Madonna in the Surrealist Intrusion in the Enchanter's Domain exhibition organized by Marcel Duchamp in New York. Breton and other Surrealists issued a tract to coincide with the exhibition denouncing Dalí as "the ex-apologist of Hitler... and friend of Franco".
In December 1949 Dalí's sister Anna Maria published her book Salvador Dalí Seen by his Sister. Dalí was angered by passages that he considered derogatory towards his wife Gala and broke off relations with his family. When Dalí's father died in September 1950 Dalí learned that he had been virtually disinherited in his will. A two-year legal dispute followed over paintings and drawings Dalí had left in his family home, during which Dalí was accused of assaulting a public notary.
As Dalí moved further towards embracing Catholicism he introduced more religious iconography and themes in his painting. In 1949 he painted a study for The Madonna of Port Lligat (first version, 1949) and showed it to Pope Pius XII during an audience arranged to discuss Dalí 's marriage to Gala. This work was a precursor to the phase Dalí dubbed "Nuclear Mysticism," a fusion of Einsteinian physics, classicism, and Catholic mysticism. In paintings such as The Madonna of Port Lligat, The Christ of Saint John on the Cross and The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory, Dalí sought to synthesize Christian iconography with images of material disintegration inspired by nuclear physics. His later Nuclear Mysticism works included La Gare de Perpignan (1965) and The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1968–70).
Dalí's keen interest in natural science and mathematics was further manifested by the proliferation of images of DNA and rhinoceros horn shapes in works from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. Dalí was also fascinated by the Tesseract (a four-dimensional cube), using it, for example, in Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).
Dalí had been extensively using optical illusions such as double images, anamorphosis, negative space, visual puns and trompe-l'œil since his Surrealist period and this continued in his later work. At some point, Dalí had a glass floor installed in a room near his studio in Port Lligat. He made extensive use of it to study foreshortening, both from above and from below, incorporating dramatic perspectives of figures and objects into his paintings. He also experimented with the bulletist technique pointillism, enlarged half-tone dot grids and stereoscopic images. He was among the first artists to employ holography in an artistic manner. In Dalí's later years, young artists such as Andy Warhol proclaimed him an important influence on pop art.
In 1960, Dalí began work on his Theatre-Museum in his home town of Figueres. It was his largest single project and a main focus of his energy through to 1974, when it opened. He continued to make additions through the mid-1980s.
In 1955 Dalí met Nanita Kalaschnikoff, who was to become a close friend, muse, and model. At a French nightclub in 1965 Dalí met Amanda Lear, a fashion model then known as Peki Oslo. Lear became his protégée and one of his muses. According to Lear, she and Dalí were united in a "spiritual marriage" on a deserted mountaintop.
Final years and death
In 1968, Dalí bought a castle in Púbol for Gala, and from 1971 she would retreat there for weeks at a time, Dalí having agreed not to visit without her written permission. His fears of abandonment and estrangement from his longtime artistic muse contributed to depression and failing health.
In 1980, at age 76, Dalí's health deteriorated sharply and he was treated for depression, drug addiction, and Parkinson-like symptoms, including a severe tremor in his right arm. There were also allegations that Gala had been supplying Dalí with pharmaceuticals from her own prescriptions.
Gala died on 10 June 1982, at the age of 87. After her death, Dalí moved from Figueres to the castle in Púbol, where she was entombed.
In 1982, King Juan Carlos bestowed on Dalí the title of Marqués de Dalí de Púbol (Marquess of Dalí of Púbol) in the nobility of Spain, Púbol being where Dalí then lived. The title was initially hereditary, but at Dalí's request was changed to life-only in 1983.
In May 1983, what was said to be Dalí's last painting, The Swallow's Tail, was revealed. The work was heavily influenced by the mathematical catastrophe theory of René Thom. However, some critics have questioned how Dalí could have executed a painting with such precision given the severe tremor in his painting arm.
From early 1984 Dalí's depression worsened and he refused food, leading to severe undernourishment. Dalí had previously stated his intention to put himself into a state of suspended animation as he had read that some microorganisms could do. In August 1984 a fire broke out in Dalí's bedroom and he was hospitalized with severe burns. Two judicial inquiries found that the fire was caused by an electrical fault and no findings of negligence were made. After his release from hospital Dalí moved to the Torre Galatea, an annex to the Dalí Theatre-Museum.
There have been allegations that Dalí was forced by his guardians to sign blank canvases that could later be used in forgeries. It is also alleged that he knowingly sold otherwise-blank lithograph paper which he had signed, possibly producing over 50,000 such sheets from 1965 until his death. As a result, art dealers tend to be wary of late graphic works attributed to Dalí.
In July 1986, Dalí had a pacemaker implanted. On his return to his Theatre-Museum he made a brief public appearance, saying:
In November 1988, Dalí entered hospital with heart failure. On 5 December 1988, he was visited by King Juan Carlos, who confessed that he had always been a serious devotee of Dalí. Dalí gave the king a drawing, Head of Europa, which would turn out to be Dalí's final drawing.
On the morning of 23 January 1989, while his favorite record of Tristan and Isolde played, Dalí died of heart failure at the age of 84. He is buried in the crypt below the stage of his Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The location is across the street from the church of Sant Pere, where he had his baptism, first communion, and funeral, and is only from the house where he was born.
The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation currently serves as his official estate. The US copyright representative for the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation is the Artists Rights Society.
Exhumation
On 26 June 2017 it was announced that a judge in Madrid had ordered the exhumation of Dalí's body in order to obtain samples for a paternity suit. Joan Manuel Sevillano, manager of the Fundación Gala Salvador Dalí (The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation), denounced the exhumation as inappropriate. The exhumation took place on the evening of 20 July, and his DNA was extracted. On 6 September 2017 the Foundation stated that the tests carried out proved conclusively that Dalí and the claimant were not related. On 18 May 2020 a Spanish court dismissed an appeal from the claimant and ordered her to pay the costs of the exhumation.
Symbolism
From the late 1920s, Dalí progressively introduced many bizarre or incongruous images into his work which invite symbolic interpretation. While some of these images suggest a straightforward sexual or Freudian interpretation (Dalí read Freud in the 1920s) others (such as locusts, rotting donkeys, and sea urchins) are idiosyncratic and have been variously interpreted. Some commentators have cautioned that Dalí's own comments on these images are not always reliable.
Food
Food and eating have a central place in Dalí's thoughts and work. He associated food with beauty and sex and was obsessed with the image of the female praying mantis eating her mate after copulation. Bread was a recurring image in Dalí's art, from his early work The Basket of Bread to later public performances such as in 1958 when he gave a lecture in Paris armed with a 12-meter-long baguette. He saw bread as "the elementary basis of continuity" and "sacred subsistence".
The egg is another common Dalínian image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love. It appears in The Great Masturbator, The Metamorphosis of Narcissus and many other works. There are also giant sculptures of eggs in various locations at Dalí's house in Port Lligat as well as at the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres.
Both Dalí and his father enjoyed eating sea urchins, freshly caught in the sea near Cadaqués. The radial symmetry of the sea urchin fascinated Dalí, and he adapted its form to many artworks. Other foods also appear throughout his work.
The famous "melting watches" that appear in The Persistence of Memory suggest Einstein's theory that time is relative and not fixed. Dalí later claimed that the idea for clocks functioning symbolically in this way came to him when he was contemplating Camembert cheese.
Animals
The rhinoceros and rhinoceros horn shapes began to proliferate in Dalí's work from the mid-1950s. According to Dalí, the rhinoceros horn signifies divine geometry because it grows in a logarithmic spiral. He linked the rhinoceros to themes of chastity and to the Virgin Mary. However, he also used it as an obvious phallic symbol as in Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity.
Various other animals appear throughout Dalí's work: rotting donkeys and ants have been interpreted as pointing to death, decay, and sexual desire; the snail as connected to the human head (he saw a snail on a bicycle outside Freud's house when he first met Sigmund Freud); and locusts as a symbol of waste and fear. The elephant is also a recurring image in his work; for example, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. The elephants are inspired by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's sculpture base in Rome of an elephant carrying an ancient obelisk.
Science
Dalí's life-long interest in science and mathematics was often reflected in his work. His soft watches have been interpreted as references to Einstein's theory of the relativity of time and space. Images of atomic particles appeared in his work soon after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and strands of D.N.A. appeared from the mid-1950s. In 1958 he wrote in his Anti-Matter Manifesto: "In the Surrealist period, I wanted to create the iconography of the interior world and the world of the marvelous, of my father Freud. Today, the exterior world and that of physics have transcended the one of psychology. My father today is Dr. Heisenberg."
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954) harks back to The Persistence of Memory (1931) and in portraying that painting in fragmentation and disintegration has been interpreted as a reference to Heisenberg's quantum mechanics.
Endeavors outside painting
Dalí was a versatile artist. Some of his more popular works are sculptures and other objects, and he is also noted for his contributions to theater, fashion, and photography, among other areas.
Sculptures and other objects
From the early 1930s, Dalí was an enthusiastic proponent of the proliferation of three-dimensional Surrealist Objects to subvert perceptions of conventional reality, writing: "museums will fast fill with objects whose uselessness, size and crowding will necessitate the construction, in deserts, of special towers to contain them." His more notable early objects include Board of Demented Associations (1930–31), Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933), Venus de Milo with Chest of Drawers (1936) and Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket (1936). Two of the most popular objects of the Surrealist movement were Lobster Telephone (1936) and Mae West Lips Sofa (1937) which were commissioned by art patron Edward James. Lobsters and telephones had strong sexual connotations for Dalí who drew a close analogy between food and sex. The telephone was functional, and James purchased four of them from Dalí to replace the phones in his home. The Mae West Lips Sofa was shaped after the lips of actress Mae West, who was previously the subject of Dalí's watercolor, The Face of Mae West which may be used as a Surrealist Apartment (1934–35). In December 1936 Dalí sent Harpo Marx a Christmas present of a harp with barbed-wire strings.
After World War II Dalí authorized many sculptures derived from his most famous works and images. In his later years other sculptures also appeared, often in large editions, whose authenticity has sometimes been questioned.
Between 1941 and 1970, Dalí created an ensemble of 39 pieces of jewelry, many of which are intricate, some containing moving parts. The most famous assemblage, The Royal Heart, is made of gold and is encrusted with 46 rubies, 42 diamonds, and four emeralds, created in such a way that the center "beats" like a heart.
Dalí ventured into industrial design in the 1970s with a 500-piece run of Suomi tableware by Timo Sarpaneva that Dalí decorated for the German Rosenthal porcelain maker's "Studio Linie". In 1969 he designed the Chupa Chups logo. He facilitated the design of the advertising campaign for the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest and created a large on-stage metal sculpture that stood at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Theater and film
In theater, Dalí designed the scenery for Federico García Lorca's 1927 romantic play Mariana Pineda. For Bacchanale (1939), a ballet based on and set to the music of Richard Wagner's 1845 opera Tannhäuser, Dalí provided both the set design and the libretto. He executed designs for a number of other ballets including Labyrinth (1942), Sentimental Colloquy, Mad Tristan, The Cafe of Chinitas (all 1944) and The Three-Cornered Hat (1949).
Dalí became interested in film when he was young, going to the theater most Sundays. By the late 1920s he was fascinated by the potential of film to reveal "the unlimited fantasy born of things themselves" and went on to collaborate with the director Luis Buñuel on two Surrealist films: the 17-minute short Un Chien Andalou (1929) and the feature film L'Age d'Or (1930). Dalí and Buñuel agree that they jointly developed the script and imagery of Un Chien Andalou, but there is controversy over the extent of Dalí's contribution to L'Age d'Or. Un Chien Andalou features a graphic opening scene of a human eyeball being slashed with a razor and develops surreal imagery and irrational discontinuities in time and space to produce a dreamlike quality. L'Age d'Or is more overtly anti-clerical and anti-establishment, and was banned after right-wing groups staged a riot in the Parisian theater where it was being shown. Summarizing the impact of these two films on the Surrealist film movement, one commentator has stated: "If Un Chien Andalou stands as the supreme record of Surrealism's adventures into the realm of the unconscious, then L'Âge d'Or is perhaps the most trenchant and implacable expression of its revolutionary intent."
After he collaborated with Buñuel, Dalí worked on several unrealized film projects including a published script for a film, Babaouo (1932); a scenario for Harpo Marx called Giraffes on Horseback Salad (1937); and an abandoned dream sequence for the film Moontide (1942). In 1945 Dalí created the dream sequence in Hitchcock's Spellbound, but neither Dalí nor the director was satisfied with the result. Dalí also worked with Walt Disney and animator John Hench on the short film Destino in 1946. After initially being abandoned, the animated film was completed in 2003 by Baker Bloodworth and Walt Disney's nephew Roy E. Disney. Between 1954 and 1961 Dalí worked with photographer Robert Descharnes on The Prodigious History of the Lacemaker and the Rhinoceros, but the film was never completed.
In the 1960s Dalí worked with some directors on documentary and performance films including with Philippe Halsman on Chaos and Creation (1960), Jack Bond on Dalí in New York (1966) and Jean-Christophe Averty on Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dalí (1966).
Dalí collaborated with director José-Montes Baquer on the pseudo-documentary film Impressions of Upper Mongolia (1975), in which Dalí narrates a story about an expedition in search of giant hallucinogenic mushrooms. In the mid-1970s film director Alejandro Jodorowsky initially cast Dalí in the role of the Padishah Emperor in a production of Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. However, Jodorowsky changed his mind after Dalí publicly supported the execution of alleged ETA terrorists in December 1975. The film was ultimately never made.
In 1972 Dalí began to write the scenario for an opera-poem called Être Dieu (To Be God). The Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán wrote the libretto and Igor Wakhévitch the music. The opera poem was recorded in Paris in 1974 with Dalí in the role of the protagonist.
Fashion and photography
Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli worked with Dalí from the 1930s and commissioned him to produce a white dress with a lobster print. Other designs Dalí made for her include a shoe-shaped hat and a pink belt with lips for a buckle. He was also involved in creating textile designs and perfume bottles. In 1950, Dalí created a special "costume for the year 2045" with Christian Dior.
Photographers with whom he collaborated include Man Ray, Brassaï, Cecil Beaton, and Philippe Halsman. Halsman produced the Dalí Atomica series (1948) – inspired by Dalí's painting Leda Atomica – which in one photograph depicts "a painter's easel, three cats, a bucket of water, and Dalí himself floating in the air".
Architecture
Dalí's architectural achievements include his Port Lligat house near Cadaqués, as well as his Theatre Museum in Figueres. A major work outside of Spain was the temporary Dream of Venus Surrealist pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which contained several unusual sculptures and statues, including live performers posing as statues.
Literary works
In his only novel, Hidden Faces (1944), Dalí describes the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolizes the decadence of the 1930s. The Comte de Grandsailles and Solange de Cléda pursue a love affair, but interwar political turmoil and other vicissitudes drive them apart. It is variously set in Paris, rural France, Casablanca in North Africa, and Palm Springs in the United States. Secondary characters include aging widow Barbara Rogers, her bisexual daughter Veronica, Veronica's sometime female lover Betka, and Baba, a disfigured U.S. fighter pilot. The novel was written in New York, and translated by Haakon Chevalier.
His other literary works include The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí (1942), Diary of a Genius (1966), and Oui: The Paranoid-Critical Revolution (1971). Dalí also published poetry, essays, art criticism, and a technical manual on art.
Graphic arts
Dalí worked extensively in the graphic arts, producing many drawings, etchings, and lithographs. Among the most notable of these works are forty etchings for an edition of Lautréamont's The Songs of Maldoror (1933) and eighty drypoint reworkings of Goya's Caprichos (1973–77). From the 1960s, however, Dalí would often sell the rights to images but not be involved in the print production itself. In addition, a large number of fakes were produced in the 1980s and 1990s, thus further confusing the Dalí print market.
Book illustrations were an important part of Dalí's work throughout his career. His first book illustration was for the 1924 publication of the Catalan poem ("The Witches of Liers") by his friend and schoolmate, poet Carles Fages de Climent. His other notable book illustrations, apart from The Songs of Maldoror, include 101 watercolors and engravings for The Divine Comedy (1960) and 100 drawings and watercolors for The Arabian Nights (1964).
Politics and personality
Politics and religion
As a youth, Dalí identified as Communist, anti-monarchist and anti-clerical and in 1924 he was briefly imprisoned by the Primo de Rivera dictatorship as a person "intensely liable to cause public disorder". When Dalí officially joined the Surrealist group in 1929 his political activism initially intensified. In 1931, he became involved in the Workers' and Peasants' Front, delivering lectures at meetings and contributing to their party journal. However, as political divisions within the Surrealist group grew, Dalí soon developed a more apolitical stance, refusing to publicly denounce fascism. In 1934, Andre Breton accused him of being sympathetic to Hitler and Dalí narrowly avoided being expelled from the group. After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Dalí avoided taking a public stand for or against the Republic. However, immediately after Franco's victory in 1939, Dalí praised Catholicism and the Falange and was expelled from the Surrealist group.
After Dalí's return to his native Catalonia in 1948, he publicly supported Franco's regime and announced his return to the Catholic faith. Dalí was granted an audience with Pope Pius XII in 1949 and with Pope John XXIII in 1959. He had official meetings with General Franco in June 1956, October 1968, and May 1974. In 1968, Dalí stated that on Franco's death there should be no return to democracy and Spain should become an absolute monarchy. In September 1975, Dalí publicly supported Franco's decision to execute three alleged Basque terrorists and repeated his support for an absolute monarchy, adding: "Personally, I'm against freedom; I'm for the Holy Inquisition." In the following days, he fled to New York after his home in Port Lligat was stoned and he had received numerous death threats. When King Juan Carlos visited the ailing Dalí in August 1981, Dalí told him: "I have always been an anarchist and a monarchist."
Dalí espoused a mystical view of Catholicism and in his later years he claimed to be a Catholic and an agnostic. He was interested in the writings of the Jesuit priest and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin and his Omega Point theory. Dalí's painting Tuna Fishing (Homage to Meissonier) (1967) was inspired by his reading of Chardin.
Sexuality
Dalí's sexuality had a profound influence on his work. He stated that as a child he saw a book with graphic illustrations of venereal diseases and this provoked a life-long disgust of female genitalia and a fear of impotence and sexual intimacy. Dalí frequently stated that his main sexual activity involved voyeurism and masturbation and his preferred sexual orifice was the anus. Dalí said that his wife Gala was the only person with whom he had achieved complete coitus. From 1927 Dalí's work featured graphic and symbolic sexual images usually associated with other images evoking shame and disgust. Images of anality and excrement also abound in his work from this time. Some of the most notable works reflecting these themes include The First Days of Spring (1929), The Great Masturbator (1929), and The Lugubrious Game (1929). Several of Dalí's intimates in the 1960s and 1970s have stated that he would arrange for selected guests to perform choreographed sexual activities to aid his voyeurism and masturbation.
Personality
Dalí was renowned for his eccentric and ostentatious behavior throughout his career. In 1941, the Director of Exhibitions and Publications at MoMA wrote: "The fame of Salvador Dalí has been an issue of particular controversy for more than a decade...Dalí's conduct may have been undignified, but the greater part of his art is a matter of dead earnest." When Dalí was elected to the French Academy of Fine Arts in 1979, one of his fellow academicians stated that he hoped Dalí would now abandon his "clowneries".
In 1936, at the premiere screening of Joseph Cornell's film Rose Hobart at Julien Levy's gallery in New York City, Dalí knocked over the projector in a rage. "My idea for a film is exactly that," he said shortly afterward, "I never wrote it down or told anyone, but it is as if he had stolen it!" In 1939, while working on a window display for Bonwit Teller, he became so enraged by unauthorized changes to his work that he pushed a display bathtub through a plate glass window. In 1955, he delivered a lecture at the Sorbonne, arriving in a Rolls Royce full of cauliflowers. To promote Robert Descharnes' 1962 book The World of Salvador Dalí, he appeared in a Manhattan bookstore on a bed, wired up to a machine that traced his brain waves and blood pressure. He would autograph books while thus monitored, and the book buyer would also be given the paper chart recording.
After World War II, Dalí became one of the most recognized artists in the world, and his long cape, walking stick, haughty expression, and upturned waxed mustache became icons of his brand. His boastfulness and public declarations of his genius became essential elements of the public Dalí persona: "every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dalí".
Dalí frequently traveled with his pet ocelot Babou, even bringing it aboard the luxury ocean liner SS France. He was also known to avoid paying at restaurants by executing drawings on the checks he wrote. His theory was the restaurant would never want to cash such a valuable piece of art, and he was usually correct.
Dalí's fame meant he was a frequent guest on television in Spain, France and the United States, including appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on 7 January 1963 The Mike Wallace Interview and the panel show What's My Line?. Dalí appeared on The Dick Cavett Show on 6 March 1970 carrying an anteater.
He also appeared in numerous advertising campaigns such for chocolates and Braniff International Airlines in 1968.
Legacy
Two major museums are devoted to Dalí's work: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, and the Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Dalí's life and work have been an important influence on pop art, other Surrealists, and contemporary artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. He has been portrayed on film by Robert Pattinson in Little Ashes (2008), and by Adrien Brody in Midnight in Paris (2011). The Salvador Dalí Desert in Bolivia and the Dalí crater on the planet Mercury are named for him.
The Spanish television series Money Heist (2017–2021) includes characters wearing a costume of red jumpsuits and Dalí masks. The creator of the series stated that the Dalí mask was chosen because it was an iconic Spanish image. The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation protested against the use of Dalí's image without the authorisation of the Dali estate. Following the popular success of the series, there were reports of people in various countries wearing the costume while participating in political protests, committing crimes or as fancy dress.
Honors
1964: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
1972: Associate member of the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
1978: Associate member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts of the Institut de France
1981: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
1982: Created 1st Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, by King Juan Carlos
List of selected works
Dalí produced over 1,600 paintings and numerous graphic works, sculptures, three-dimensional objects, and designs. Below is a sample of important and representative works.
Landscape Near Figueras (1910–14)
Vilabertran (1910–14)
Cabaret Scene (1922)
Night Walking Dreams (1922)
The Basket of Bread (1926)
Composition with Three Figures (Neo-Cubist Academy) (1927)
Honey is Sweeter than Blood (1927)
Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog) (1929) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
The Lugubrious Game (1929)
The Great Masturbator (1929)
The First Days of Spring (1929)
L'Age d'Or (The Golden Age) (1930) (film in collaboration with Luis Buñuel)
Board of Demented Associations (1930–31) (Surrealist object)
Premature Ossification of a Railway Station (1931)
The Persistence of Memory (1931)
Retrospective Bust of a Woman (1933) (mixed media sculpture collage)
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (c.1934)
Lobster Telephone (1936)
Venus de Milo with Drawers (1936)
Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War) (1936)
Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937)
Swans Reflecting Elephants (1937)
The Burning Giraffe (1937)
Mae West Lips Sofa (1937)
Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach (1938)
Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of the Cinema in Her Time (1939)
Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire (1940)
The Face of War (also known as The Visage of the War) (1940)
Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man (1943)
Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (c.1944)
Basket of Bread – Rather Death than Shame (1945)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946)
The Elephants (1948) (also known as Project for "As You Like It")
Leda Atomica (1947–1949)
The Madonna of Port Lligat (1949)
Christ of Saint John of the Cross (also known as The Christ) (1951)
Galatea of the Spheres (1952) (also known as Gala Placidia)
The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1952–54)
Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) (c.1954) (also known as Hypercubic Christ)
Young Virgin Auto-Sodomized by the Horns of Her Own Chastity (1954)
The Sacrament of the Last Supper (1955)
Still Life Moving Fast (c. 1956) (also known as Fast-Moving Still Life)
The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus (1958)
Perpignan Railway Station (c. 1965)
Tuna Fishing (1966–67)
The Hallucinogenic Toreador (1970)
Nieuw Amsterdam (1974 object/sculpture)
The Swallow's Tail (c.1983)
Dalí museums and permanent exhibitions
Dalí Theatre-Museum – Figueres, Catalonia, Spain, holds the largest collection of Dalí's work
Gala Dalí House-Museum – Castle of Púbol in Púbol, Catalonia, Spain
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (Reina Sofia Museum) – Madrid, Spain, holds a significant collection
Salvador Dalí House Museum – Port Lligat, Catalonia, Spain
Salvador Dalí Museum – St Petersburg, Florida, contains the collection of Reynolds and Eleanor Morse, and over 1500 works by Dalí, including seven large "masterworks"
Major temporary exhibitions
In 2018, a traveling museum exhibition focusing on Dalí's illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy premiered at the Hilliard University Art Museum in Lafayette, Louisiana. The exhibition titled Salvador Dalí's Stairway to Heaven will be touring the United States through 2021.
Gallery
See also
List of Spanish artists
Salvador Dalí and Dance
References
Further reading
Important books by or about Salvador Dalí readily available in English include:
Ades, Dawn, Salvador Dalí, Thames and Hudson, 1995 (2nd ed.)
Dalí, Salvador, Oui: the paranoid-critical revolution: writings 1927–1933, (edited by Robert Descharnes, translated by Yvonne Shafir), Boston: Exact Change, 1998
Dalí, Salvador, The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí, New York, Dover, 1993 (translated by Haakon M. Chevalier, first published 1942)
Dalí, Salvador, The Diary of a Genius, London, Hutchinson, 1990 (translated by Richard Howard, first published 1964)
Dalí, Salvador, The Unspeakable Confessions of Salvador Dalí, London, Quartet Books, 1977 (first published 1973)
Descharnes, Robert, Salvador Dalí (translated by Eleanor R. Morse), New York, Abradale Press, 1993
Gibson, Ian, The Shameful Life of Salvador Dalí, London, Faber and Faber, 1997
Shanes, Eric, Salvador Dalí, Parkstone International, 2014
External links
Salvador Dalí on What's My Line?
Interview and bank advertisement.
A collection of interviews and footage of Dalí in the French television
Mike Wallace interviews Salvador Dalí Archived 15 December 2015. Harry Ransom Center, the University of Texas at Austin
Panorama: Salvador Dali - Malcolm Muggeridge BBC interview, first transmitted 4 May 1955
Salvador Dalí at LletrA, Catalan Literature Online (Open University of Catalonia).
1904 births
1989 deaths
People from Figueres
Spanish artists
20th-century Spanish painters
Spanish male painters
Surrealist artists
Painters from Catalonia
Spanish illustrators
Recipients of the Legion of Honour
Marquesses of Spain
Members of the Royal Academy of Belgium
Modern painters
Spanish printmakers
Spanish erotic artists
Spanish Roman Catholics
Spanish surrealist artists
Surrealist filmmakers
20th-century Spanish sculptors
20th-century male artists
Spanish male sculptors
Mathematical artists
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Federico García Lorca
1939 New York World's Fair artists
Spanish people of Arab descent
Spanish people of Jewish descent
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[
"Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) is a trademark for network-based products that control lighting. The underlying technology was established by a consortium of lighting equipment manufacturers as a successor for 1-10 V/ lighting control systems, and as an open standard alternative to several proprietary protocols. The DALI, DALI-2 and D4i trademarks are owned by the lighting industry alliance, DiiA (Digital Illumination Interface Alliance).\n\nDALI is specified by a series of technical standards in IEC 62386. Standards conformance ensures that equipment from different manufacturers will interoperate. The DALI trademark is allowed on devices that comply with the DiiA testing and certification requirements, and are listed as either registered (DALI version-1) or certified (DALI-2) on the DiiA website. D4i certification - an extension of DALI-2 - was added by DiiA in November 2019.\n\nMembers of the AG DALI were allowed to use the DALI trademark until the DALI working party was dissolved on 30 March 2017, when trademark use was transferred to DiiA members. Since 9 June 2017, Digital Illumination Interface Alliance (DiiA) certifies DALI products. DiiA is a Partner Program of IEEE-ISTO.\n\nTechnical overview\nA DALI network consists of at least one application controller and bus power supply (which may be built into any of the products) as well as input devices (e.g. sensors and push-buttons), control gear (e.g., electrical ballasts, LED drivers and dimmers) with DALI interfaces. Application controllers can control, configure or query each device by means of a bi-directional data exchange. The DALI protocol permits addressing devices individually, in groups or via broadcast.\n\nEach device is assigned a unique short address between 0 and 63, making up to 64 control gear devices and 64 control devices possible in a basic system. Address assignment is performed over the bus using a \"commissioning\" protocol, usually after all hardware is installed. Data is transferred between devices by means of an asynchronous, half-duplex, serial protocol over a two-wire bus with a fixed data transfer rate of .\n\nA single pair of wires comprises the bus used for communication on a DALI network. The network can be arranged in bus or star topology, or a combination of these. Each device on a DALI network can be addressed individually, unlike DSI and 0–10V devices. Consequently, DALI networks typically use fewer wires than DSI or 0–10V systems.\n\nThe bus is used for both signal and bus power. A power supply provides up to 250 mA at typically 16 V DC; each device may draw up to 2 mA unless bus-powered. While many devices are mains-powered (line-powered), low-power devices such as motion detectors may be powered directly from the DALI bus. Each device has a bridge rectifier on its input so it is polarity-insensitive. The bus is a wired-AND configuration where signals are sent by briefly shorting the bus to a low voltage level. (The power supply is required to tolerate this, limiting the current to 250 mA.)\n\nAlthough the DALI control cable operates at ELV potential, it is not classified as SELV (Safety Extra Low Voltage) and must be treated as if it has only basic insulation from mains. This has the disadvantage that the network cable is required to be mains-rated, but has the advantage that it may be run next to mains cables or within a multi-core cable which includes mains power. Also, mains-powered devices (e.g., LED drivers) need only provide functional insulation between the mains and the DALI control wires.\n\nThe network cable is required to provide a maximum drop of along the cable. At 250 mA of supply current, that requires a resistance of ≤ per wire. The wire size needed to achieve this depends on the length of the bus, up to a recommended maximum of at 300 m when using the maximum rating of bus power supply.\n\nThe speed is kept low so no termination resistors are required, and data is transmitted using relatively high voltages ( for low and for high) enabling reliable communications in the presence of significant electrical noise. (This also allows plenty of headroom for a bridge rectifier in each slave.)\n\nEach bit is sent using Manchester encoding (a \"1\" bit is low for the first half of the bit time, and high for the second, while \"0\" is the reverse), so that power is present for half of each bit. When the bus is idle, the voltage level is continuously high (which is not the same as a data bit). Frames begin with a \"1\" start bit, then 8 to 32 data bits in msbit-first order (standard RS-232 is lsbit-first), followed by a minimum of 2.45 ms of idle.\n\nDevice addressing\nA DALI device, such as an LED driver, can be controlled individually via its short address. Additionally, DALI devices may be arranged into groups in which all devices of the same group can respond to the commands addressed to the group. For example, a room with 4 ballasts can be changed from off to on in three common ways:\n\nSingle device\nUsing the Short Address, e.g. sending the following DALI messages:\n\n DALI Short Address 1 go to 100%\n DALI Short Address 2 go to 100%\n DALI Short Address 3 go to 100%\n DALI Short Address 4 go to 100%\n\nThis method has the advantage of not requiring programming of group and scene information for each ballast. The fade time of the transition can be chosen on the fly.\nThis method may be undesirable because simultaneous control of a large number of devices may not be possible due to network latency and the comparatively slow 1200 baud rate of DALI. For example, turning all lighting fixtures off may result in a visible delay between the first and last ballasts switching off. This issue is normally not a problem in rooms with a smaller number of ballasts.\n\nDevice groups\nUsing the DALI Group previously defined for the ballasts in the room, e.g.:\n DALI Group address 1 go to 100%\n\nThis method has the advantage of being immune to synchronization effects as described above.\nThis method has the disadvantage of requiring each ballast to be programmed with the required group numbers and scene information. The fade time can still be configured on the fly, if required.\n\nBroadcast\nUsing the DALI Broadcast command, all control gear will change to that level, e.g.:\n DALI Broadcast go to 50%\n\nBrightness control\nDALI lighting levels are specified by an 8-bit value, with 0 representing off, 1 means 0.1% of full brightness, 254 means full brightness, and other values being logarithmically interpolated, giving a 2.77% increase per step. I.e., a (non-zero) control byte denotes a power level of .\n\n(A value of 255 is reserved for freezing the current lighting level without changing it.)\n\nThis is designed to match human eye sensitivity so that perceived brightness steps are uniform, and to ensure corresponding brightness levels in units from different manufacturers.\n\nScenes\nDevices store 16 programmable output levels as \"scenes\". A single broadcast command causes each device to change to its configured level, e.g. dim lights over the audience and bright lights over the stage. (A programmed output level of 255 causes a device not to respond to a given scene.)\n\nA 17th \"system failure\" scene is triggered by a loss of power (sustained low level) on the DALI bus, to provide a safe fallback if control is lost.\n\nCommands for control gear\nForward frames sent to control gear are 16 bits long, comprising an address byte followed by an opcode byte. The address byte specifies a target device or a special command addressed to all devices.\n\nWhen addressing a device, the least significant bit of the address byte specifies the interpretation of the opcode byte, with \"0\" meaning a target (light) level byte follows, and \"1\" meaning a command follows.\n\nSeveral important special commands are used to save the data byte to one of the three \"data transfer registers\" which can be used as a parameter by subsequent commands.\n\nAddress byte format:\n 0AAA AAAS: Target device 0 ≤ A < 64.\n 100A AAAS: Target group 0 ≤ A < 16. Each control gear may be a member of any or all groups.\n 1111 110S: Broadcast unaddressed\n 1111 111S: Broadcast\n 1010 0000 to 1100 1011: Special commands\n 1100 1100 to 1111 1011: Reserved\n\nCommon control gear commands:\n\nCommands for control devices\nThe DALI-2 standard added standardisation of control devices. Control devices can include input devices such as daylight sensors, passive infrared room occupancy sensors, and manual lighting controls, or they can be application controllers that are the \"brains\" of the system - using information to make decisions and control the lights and other devices. Control devices can also combine the functionality of an application controller and an input device. Control devices use 24-bit forward frames, which are ignored by control gear, so up to 64 control devices may share the bus with up to 64 control gear.\n\nD4i\nDiiA published several new specifications in 2018 and 2019, extending DALI-2 functionality with power and data, especially for intra-luminaire DALI systems. Applications include indoor and outdoor luminaires, and small DALI systems. The D4i trademark is used on certified products to indicate that these new features are included in the products.\n\nColour control\nIEC 62386-209 describes colour control gear. This describes several colour types - methods of controlling colour. The most popular of these is Tc (tunable white), and was added to DALI-2 certification in January 2020.\n\nEmergency lighting\nIEC 62386-202 describes self-contained emergency lighting. Features include automated triggering of function tests and duration tests, and recording of results. These devices are currently included in DALI version-1 registration, with tests for DALI-2 certification in development. Such DALI version-1 products can be mixed with DALI-2 products in the same system, with no problems expected.\n\nWireless\nIEC 62386-104 describes several wireless and wired transport alternatives to the conventional wired DALI bus system. DiiA is working with other industry associations to enable certification of DALI-2 products that operate over certain underlying wireless carriers. \nIt is also possible to combine DALI with wireless communication via application gateways that translate between DALI and the wireless protocol of choice. While such gateways are not standardized, DiiA is working with other industry associations to develop the necessary specifications and tests to achieve this. DiiA: DALI and Wireless\n\nSee also\n Dimmer\n Lighting control console\n Lighting control system\n\nReferences\n\nExternal links \n Digital Illumination Interface Alliance\n\nBuilding automation\nLighting\nOpen standards",
"Dali (also Daal or Dæl; ) is a goddess from the mythology of the Georgian people of the Caucasus region. She is a hunting goddess who serves as the patron of hoofed wild mountain animals such as ibexes and deer. Hunters who obeyed her numerous taboos would be assured of success in the hunt; conversely, she would harshly punish any who violated them. She is most prominently attested in the stories of the Svan ethnic subgroup in northwestern Georgia. Other groups in western Georgia had similar figures considered equivalent to Dali, such as the Mingrelian goddess Tkashi-Mapa ().\n\nShe was usually described as a beautiful nude woman with golden hair and glowing skin, although she sometimes took on the form of her favored animals, usually with some marking to differentiate her from the herd. She was said to reside in a cavern high in the mountains, where she kept watch over the hoofed game animals who live on the cliffs. Dali was styled with a variety of regional epithets reflecting her different roles and associations.\n\nStories of the Svan people depict her taking human lovers and killing them out of jealousy, giving birth to sons such as the culture hero Amirani, and later clashing with her rival Saint George. Some myths depict her working alongside other forest deities, and she is sometimes accompanied by the legendary hunting dog Q'ursha. After the rise of Christianity in Georgia, Dali's importance as a goddess waned, which was reflected in changes to stories told about her. Saint George was presented as having the power to overrule her, and she began to be conflated with a malicious nature spirit called the ali.\n\nMany authors have described parallels between Dali and stories from other mythologies. As a patron of the hunt associated with hoofed beasts, she has been compared with Artemis of Greek mythology, a Scottish hag called the glaistig, and the maiden who tames the unicorn. Her associations with gold, seduction, and the morning star have led scholars to draw connections with goddesses such as Aphrodite and Ishtar, who have similar mythological themes.\n\nHer story remains an important part of Georgian cultural consciousness, and she is often referenced with eponyms and literary allusions. Although younger people treat her as a figure from mythology, some older hunters still consider her to be a real figure one might encounter deep in the forest.\n\nOrigins \n\nDali is attested primarily in surviving pieces of Svan folklore: myths, ballads, and round-dance songs. Linguistic anthropologist Kevin Tuite regards the surviving texts as fragmentary, representing \"but a tiny fraction of the texts that would have been in circulation in the Svaneti of a few centuries ago\". He also noted that most of these pieces would have been performed and likely composed by men, leaving any female perspective of Dali unclear.\n\nDali is also attested in oral traditions recorded in modern academic fieldwork by Georgian academics such as Vera Bardavelidze in the 1930s and Elene Virsaladze in the 1950s–1970s. According to Virsaladze, Georgian culture exhibits an extraordinary degree of live retention of ancient folklore and traditions, possibly from as far back as 3,300 years ago.\n\nIt has been suggested that Dali, along with numerous other deities of Georgian mythology, had her origins in a lost common religion of the Kartvelian peoples. Variations on this idea were supported by the Georgian historians Nikolai Marr and Ivane Javakhishvili, both of whom independently theorized that the similarities in folklore between the various Georgian ethnic groups indicated a common religious origin. Dating the origin of this religion, and therefore of Dali in particular, may be impossible due to the lack of surviving written sources. The only thing that can be stated definitively is that these beliefs predate the adoption of Christianity in Georgia, which archaeological evidence indicates began as early as the 3rd century.\n\nSome archaeological artifacts have been suggested to have a connection to Dali. Folklorist Mikheil Chikovani considered the Trialeti Chalice, a Georgian artifact from approximately the 2nd millennium BCE, to depict a round dance or ritual dedicated to a goddess of the hunt comparable to Dali. He connected the motif of the animals on the lower portion of the chalice to the hoofed animals which Dali protected. Folklorist David Hunt also suggested the Chalice could be a depiction of a mistress of beasts. Some historians have speculated that certain Phasian drachma coins from the 4th to 5th century may have depicted Dali or her precursors, although numismatist John Hind argued against these interpretations in a 2005 paper.\n\nEtymology and epithets \n\nThe etymology of Dali's name is unclear. Although many figures in Georgian mythology have origins in figures from the early Georgian Orthodox Church, Dali is not among them. It has been suggested that the name comes from the Georgian word dila, meaning \"morning\", or the Ossetian word dælimon meaning \"demon\", but these links are disputed. Tuite has linked the name to the various words for \"god\" in the Nakh languages, a group of languages in the Northeast Caucasian language family: \"Chechen dēla, Ingush dǣlə, Bats dalě\". These words can refer to Allah specifically, or can be used as a general term for pre-Islamic deities in the region. It was characteristic for central Caucasian cultures to replace sacred words with substitutes; this lexical replacement was driven by taboos against speaking the true words. Tuite believed Dali might originally have had a Svan name that gradually became replaced by the Nakh term for \"god\" as a result of this process.\n\nDali and her equivalents were also known by various epithets, reflecting local perceptions of the goddess's role or associations. At times she was simply called \"Radiant\", in reference to her extraordinary beauty. When focusing on her association with New Year's Eve, she was referred to with the epithet of Dæl Ešxwmiš, or \"Dali of New Year's Eve\". The Svan called her \"the Queen Dali\". Because she was said to live high in the mountains, she was sometimes referred to as \"Dali of the Rocks\". In the Racha and Kakheti regions she was called \"the Mistress of Beasts\" and the \"Angel of the Crags\". The name Tkashi-Mapa, used by the Mingrelians, translates as \"the Queen of the Woods\" or \"the Sovereign of the Forest\".\n\nDepiction \n\nTraditionally, Dali lived in a cavern high up in the mountains, far away from human settlement. Some traditions specified her home was the distinctive double-peaked mountain Ushba, whose ice-covered south face was sometimes called Dalis panjara, the Window of Dali (). The cave's exact location varied; it could be on the side of a glacier, or at the summit of the mountain. Sometimes the entrance was concealed by a rock door which Dali opened and closed to hide her dwelling. Rarely, Dali and her flock lived inside an enormous hollowed-out spruce tree. As a rule, Dali did not enter civilized spaces such as villages except on rare occasions, such as the funerals of her human lovers.\n\nDali was usually described as a beautiful young woman with long braided hair. She was most often portrayed as nude, occasionally wearing gold jewellery. If she wore clothes, they were white. Her skin was so white it was literally radiant. Her beauty was extraordinary: \"both irresistible and terrible\", it could drive a man to madness if he even spoke to her.\n\nDali's long hair was an important component of her mythology. Her hair was gold-colored; in some cases, it was actually made of gold, and shone like the sun. Some stories depicted this gleaming aspect as fire, describing the goddess leaving \"little tongues of flame\" in her wake, although this is less prevalent. She would sit on the cliffs combing her hair with a golden comb. In some tales, Dali used her supernaturally-strong hair to bind hunters who wronged her. In one story, she used it to strangle a hunter who had stolen one of her hairs to string his hunting bow.\n\nAlthough strong enough to string a bow with, her hair was not invulnerable; indeed, using Dali's hair to threaten, harm, or kill her was a recurring motif. Multiple tales depict hunters grabbing or cutting Dali's hair in order to subdue and rape her. This tactic did not necessarily prevent the goddess from later taking revenge. In a story about Dali's Mingrelian equivalent Tkashi-Mapa, the goddess agrees to marry a hunter when he threatens to cut off her luxurious hair. He eventually grows tired of her endlessly washing and combing it, and hides her prized comb so she will stop. She destroys his family, killing one of his children and stealing another, and curses his entire line of descendants.\n\nWomen could also use Dali's hair against her. In one of the major Dali stories, a woman discovers her husband sleeping with Dali. She cuts Dali's hair off in a rage, killing her or banishing her from the world. A superstition recorded in 1971 described how a woman whose man had been away hunting too long might cut her own hair off, praying that God would cut Dali's hair in return, which would force the goddess to allow her husband to return home. In one unusual variation of the hair-cutting motif, a woman wishing to rid her son or her husband of Dali's influence sneaks up on the goddess while she is sleeping and washes her hair, sometimes in deer's milk. Dali is rendered so powerless, or so grateful, by this act that she becomes the woman's servant. Her Mingrelian equivalent could be dismissed with a similar method, using milk from a black cow instead of a deer.\n\nPrimary motifs\n\nGame animals and hunting \n\nDali's primary mythological role was that of the mistress and guardian of hoofed game animals of the mountain. She protected her charges, which included deer, ibex, wild sheep, and goat-antelopes like turs and chamois, just as a shepherd guards a flock. Some stories portray her milking her animals. She was responsible for granting favor or misfortune to hunters, punishing the greedy and ensuring there would always be enough game to go around.\n\nStories involving Dali often feature animals that have been marked as special: either they are Dali's favorites among the herd, or they are the goddess herself in the form of an animal. Examples of these special features include a purely white coat, unusual markings, or golden horns. Dali could vary her size in both her animal and her human forms. When she took the shape of her favored animals, they were often significantly larger or smaller than the usual animals of that kind. She could also make her human form very small: in eastern Georgia, hunters would leave tiny pairs of shoes on the cliffs as an offering to her.\n\nSeveral tales recorded by Georgian folklorist Elene Virsaladze reflect the deadly consequences for a hunter who wounded or killed one of Dali's marked beasts, or hunted too greedily. Two stories describe Dali cursing a hunter's family such that his sons, and later the hunter himself, died as a result. Another story describes Dali destroying the town of Nakvderi with an avalanche as revenge after a hunter wounded a tur marked by the goddess. In another story, a hunter killed a doe and its fawn, and was cursed by the herd's protector to never have any descendants of his own.\n\nOne Svan story describes the consequences for three brothers who follow one of Dali's mountain goats up into the crags and attempt to shoot it. The first two brothers both miss the goat, and are attacked and killed by Dali, who has been hiding in her cave nearby watching. The third brother watches the goat vanish into Dali's cave, and hides. Dali eventually emerges. The hunter leaps out of hiding, grabs her by the hair, and rapes her. She then becomes his mistress. The story's unusual inclusion of a hunter who overpowers Dali may indicate that it took some influence from an Ossetian legend involving two brothers overcoming a deer-herding witch.\n\nAppeasement through taboos and offerings \n\nDespite her protectiveness towards her animals, Dali was not necessarily hostile to hunters, and would even grant them blessings if they respected certain taboos and made appropriate offerings to her. These taboos typically revolved around concerns about spiritual purity and prevention of overhunting. Offerings usually involved small personal sacrifices given before and after the hunt.\n\nDali was perceived as extremely sensitive to any kind of spiritual pollution entering her mountains, which were considered pure and therefore sacred. She demanded that hunters abstain from the hunt if they were impure in any of a number of ways. Impurity usually originated from women and blood, but could also come from use of foul language, commission of adulterous acts, and association with dead bodies. On the night before a hunt, hunters had to refrain from intercourse with any women, even their wives. They had to avoid any contact, sexual or otherwise, with any woman who was menstruating or in childbirth. The wives of hunters were also subject to behavioral taboos. In some regions, \"the wives of huntsmen were traditionally forbidden to wash, comb, or unplait their hair\" while their husbands were out on the hunt. In an extension of the hunter's menstrual taboo, women were not permitted to eat meat from the hunt while menstruating, pregnant, or in childbirth.\n\nHunting was treated as a sacred act among the Svan. The hunt began with a sacrifice of a ceremonial bread, called lamsir, which was offered to Dali with a prayer. Hunters were taught to not kill more beasts than they could carry, usually one for each man in the hunting party. If their efforts were successful, hunters would make an offering of organ meat to Dali in thanksgiving. In some traditions, the horns of the animal would be consecrated to Dali once the hunters returned to their village.\n\nIt was believed that hunters who respected these taboos and made correct offerings, thereby avoiding ritual impurity, would always find enough game to ensure they and their families were fed. Conversely, hunters who became impure by failing to abide by taboos and restrictions could be punished by Dali in a number of ways ranging from failure to find game all the way to death by fatal fall. It was sometimes possible to abate Dali's rage after a transgression with appropriate offerings, as in one story where an offering of sacred bread prevented Dali from destroying a village by flooding the Inguri River.\n\nSeduction and jealousy \n\nStories involving Dali often depict her taking mortal hunters as lovers, bringing both blessings and peril to the hunter. In an inversion of traditional gender roles, it is the goddess who chooses the hunter and initiates the affair. Often, her target was a hunter who had done her a favor such as protecting her from a pursuer. She would give her lovers tokens of affection such as beads, jewellery, or small objects like scissors, which he was required to keep hidden from everyone. A hunter who became Dali's lover would be guaranteed success in the hunt. The goddess might even protect the hunter from human assailants and heal his wounds. In return, he was prohibited from revealing the secret of his good fortune, and from taking any mortal lovers for the duration of the affair.\n\nEngaging in an affair with Dali was a dangerous undertaking. Dali's beauty would inflame the hunter's passions to the point of near-madness, a state that was referred to as being \"dalelukdune, Dali-possessed\" (). Afflicted hunters would wander the wilderness aimlessly waiting for the goddess to find them. After the affair was consummated, any appearance of infidelity on the hunter's part would incur the goddess's wrath. He could be attacked by her animals or lured to his death upon a dangerous cliff. Dali's Mingrelian equivalent was known to petrify hunters who offended her. Even if a hunter did survive the liaison, he might be unable to take a mortal lover for the remainder of his life for fear of angering the goddess.\n\nIt was possible for a wily hunter to negotiate terms with Dali, such as limiting the length of the affair, or securing the right to marry a mortal at a later time. As long as the hunter's terms were set before the affair began, Dali would respect them. Some traditions held that a hunter could safely end an affair with Dali by giving his undergarments to a male guest, who would become the new focus of Dali's affections, allowing the original hunter to marry without enraging the goddess.\n\nEven death did not end Dali's obsessive behavior toward her beloved hunters. She would come down from the mountains into villages to grieve dramatically over the bodies of hunters, even those whose deaths she was responsible for in the first place. Some villages had family members stand guard over freshly buried bodies to prevent Dali from unearthing them to weep over. In others, the family would leave the hunter's body alone in the house, enabling Dali to dress the body and mourn over it for a short time.\n\nAlthough not specifically regarded as a fertility goddess, two major myths depict Dali giving birth. In one, the goddess drops her infant after the birth. It is rescued by a hunter, to whom she offers a sexual liaison as a reward. In the second, Dali seduces a hunter, becomes pregnant, and gives birth to a demigod son who becomes a hero.\n\nTimes of transition \n\nAlthough she is primarily a hunting deity, Dali has strong associations with symbols and states of transition such as dawn, the morning star, and New Year's Eve. Svan hunting lore placed significant emphasis on the morning star. Svan hunters were taught to leave their homes before dawn, and arrive at the hunting grounds by its light. Once at the hunting grounds, they would light a small fire and offer a prayer via the morning star to Dali and other hunting deities such as Apsat (the god of small game) or Saint George (the patron of hunters). In the story of the hunter Betkil, his death at Dali's hands is sometimes set at the moment the morning star appears in the sky, or the moment the night becomes dawn.\n\nDali was also celebrated on New Year's Eve as the bringer of a peaceful transition from the old year to the new. During these celebrations, she was referred to with the epithet of Dæl Ešxwmiš, or \"Dali of New Year's Eve\". Both male and female heads of household would make offerings of special bread baked from consecrated grain to Dali of New Year's Eve. Georgian ethnologist Vera Bardavelidze documented a number of different forms of this sacred bread from various villages based on fieldwork she conducted in the 1930s. Some loaves would be kept until spring, where they would be crumbled and sown into the earth at a planting festival.\n\nMythology\n\nAffair with Betkil \n\nThe most well-known of Dali's affairs is her dalliance with the legendary hunter Betkil or Betgil, who falls to his death from a high cliff after betraying Dali's affections. The story is depicted in the traditional Svan circle dance songs Bail Betkil, Betkan Kutsa and Betkani. These dances were performed in the Racha region of western Georgia each year on the third Sunday following Easter, at the bottom of the cliff where Betkil is believed to have died. The exact location is uncertain: Tuite mentions the Free Svaneti communes of Mulakhi and Muzhali, while folklorist Anna Chaudhri pinpoints the village of Ghebi. The annual performance of these dances was linked to a ritual meant to summon the rain.\n\nThe story begins with Dali selecting and pursuing Betkil. She gives him a token of her favor (Tuite translates it as \"a bead, ring, or charm\") and demands that he abstain from the touch of mortal females, including his own wife. For a time he is faithful to her and his hunts are always fruitful. Eventually, he breaks his vow with a mortal womanmost often his wife, but occasionally his sister-in-lawand this woman steals the goddess's love-token. In a rage, Dali transforms herself into a white deer or chamois and lures an unsuspecting Betkil from his village to the top of her mountain. The path closes, crumbles, or melts away behind him, forcing him to continue forward until he reaches the peak. There, Dali returns to her human form and angrily confronts Betkil about his betrayal and the loss of her token. The ground beneath Betkil's feet crumbles away entirely and leaves him hanging by one hand and one foot. Dali disappears, leaving Betkil to either jump or fall to his death. In some versions, prior to his death, Betkil entreats his family to grieve for him in various ways, and laments that his mortal lover allowed him to go out hunting while \"impure\".\n\nIn some variations of the Betkil story, he is accompanied up the mountain by the supernatural dog Q'ursha. In this version, Betkil is trapped on the mountain for several days and runs out of food. Eventually, Q'ursha insists that Betkil kill and eat him to survive. In some versions he goes through with it. In others, he kills the hound but cannot bring himself to eat him. Finally, in other versions, he sends Q'ursha to his village for help instead. The villagers come to Betkil's aid and throw ropes to him, but Dali's mountain grows taller and taller and the ropes cannot reach him. Again, he falls to his death.\n\nWhite Mangur \n\nAnother hunter, known as White Mangur, fares unusually well in his encounter with Dali. One version of the story, recorded by academic researchers and first published in 1939, describes Mangur as a famously prosperous hunter. One night he takes shelter in an empty cave. Dali arrives and demands that he explain his presence in her cave. Mangur explains that he was overtaken by nightfall and had no other shelter available. Dali remarks that if he were any other man, she would \"arrange for you an unlucky return home\", but says it would be a pity to harm a man like Mangur. Instead, she invites him to her bed. He protests briefly that he has a wife and child, but quickly relents, and they have an affair. She tells him she will give him plenty of game, and if he is ever in trouble to call her name. In the morning, White Mangur leaves Dali's cave, but is soon accosted by enemies. He kills nine of his enemies, but receives nine serious wounds in return. He calls out to Dali for help, and the goddess leaps from behind the crags and massacres Mangur's enemies with an ash branch. She heals his wounds at a touch and sends him home.\n\n\"Dali is Giving Birth on the Crags\" \n\nThe story of Dali giving birth on the crags has been passed down as a song accompanied by a traditional circle dance, called Dælil k'ojas khelghwazhale in Svan (). Linguistic analysis corroborated by archaeological findings indicates that the song is of ancient origin.\n\nThe song begins with a hunter named Mepsay or Mepisa, who hears the goddess crying out in pain from childbirth. Immediately after giving birth, Dali drops the infant down the mountain, where it is snatched up by a waiting wolf. The hunter shoots the wolf and brings the infant back up the mountain to Dali. She offers the hunter a choice of reward: she will gift him with various game animals, or he can become her lover. He warily declines her offer of sexual favors and asks for success in the hunt. Later, he attempts to shoot an ibex with golden horns, not realizing that it is the goddess herself. His bullet ricochets off the ibex's horns and strikes him down, killing him. In this story, the name of the child's father and the fate of the child are never given.\n\nAmirani \n\nThe second of Dali's childbirth stories has more variations, but generally describes the conception and birth of the culture hero Amirani. In the most prominent version, a hunter finds Dali in the mountains, and she takes him as her lover. After several days together, they are discovered by his angry wife, who cuts off Dali's golden hair or ties her up with it. As a result, Dali is forced to abruptly leave the world. (In some variations, the cutting of her hair kills her outright.) If she is killed, her pregnancy is discovered after her death. If she is simply banished, she announces that she is pregnant before departing. She declares that her child will be a powerful hero, though not as powerful as he would be had he been carried to term. In either case, her lover reluctantly cuts the infant from her womb. In some versions, the infant is premature and must be placed in the stomach of a bull (or the womb of a cow, or both) to complete gestation. Eventually he is left beside a spring, where he is found by either the Christian God or Saint George and baptized with the name Amirani.\n\nIn another version of Amirani's birth story, a mortal hunter cuts off Dali's braids while she sleeps and rapes her; she becomes pregnant. Later, an old hunter named Sulkalmakhi hears her wailing high in the cliffs, and climbs up to her. She tells him she is dying, and begs him to cut her infant free so he does not die with her. She tells Sulkalmakhi to name him Amirani and care for him as his own.\n\nAlthough Amirani is generally depicted as Dali's son, there is a story from the Guria region called \"Dali and Amirani\" in which Dali, enraged by an unspecified offense, attempts to entrap an adult Amirani. While wandering the mountains with his dog, Amirani sees a flame and begins to follow it up the cliffs, eventually discovering that the flame is Dali's hair. Dali lures Amirani to the top of the mountain by saying she has been looking for him. His dog warns him of her ill intentions, but Amirani disregards the dog's advice and climbs up to meet her. When he reaches the very top of the mountain, Dali disappears and Amirani finds himself hung from the rocks by her hair. His dog, unable to reach him, convinces a bird to pluck the hair away. Just as the bird frees Amirani, Dali returns and curses the bird and its kind to be weak and useless. This is a variation on the story in which Dali strangles an unnamed hunter at the top of a mountain after he stole a hair to string his bow.\n\nSaint George \n\nLater Svan mythology depicts Dali in opposition to St. George. In Georgian mythology, Saint George is regarded as a deity whose primary function is the protection of \"men exploiting the world outside their villages for the benefit of the community\", such as shepherds, beekeepers, and most significantly, hunters. The Svan round dance song Monadire Chorla (\"The Hunter Chorla\"), a late variation of the Betkil story, depicts a significant clash between Dali and Saint George. In the song, a hunter named Chorla kills more than his share of ibexes, despite knowing this will anger the goddess. Dali punishes Chorla for his greed by binding him up on a treacherous cliff. Chorla sends his dog for help, and it returns with Saint George, who intervenes for Chorla as a reward for his faith in Jesus Christ. Saint George threatens to pollute or destroy the mountains with storms and landslides unless Dali releases Chorla, which she does. Furthermore, he places Chorla under his protection and declares that he can hunt without limit in the future.\n\nSome versions of this story, such as the Svan ballads of the hunters Givergil and Kala, describe the hunter being tormented by a group of spirits, collectively referred to as the Dalis, rather than a singular goddess. In the ballad about Kala, the Dalis explicitly call Saint George their master when he threatens to destroy their territory. Tuite found this plural representation similar to the \"St Georges\" and \"St Elijahs\" of Ossetic mythology, which were groups of spirits sharing traits of the Christian saints they were named for. In contrast, Virsaladze found the change from singular goddess to coven of spirits to be a confirmation that Dali had been relegated to a secondary role in Svan hunting mythology.\n\nAssociated figures \n\nDali was not the only hunting deity worshipped by the Svans, and she was sometimes depicted working alongside others. Georges Charachidzé, a French-Georgian scholar of Caucasian culture, recorded that Dali worked with three other Svaneti forest gods to assist the Lord of the Bare Mountain, Ber Shishvlish. These deities were Apsat, the god of small game like fish and birds, Cxek'isk angelwez, the Angel of the Forest, who ruled over forest animals like foxes and bears, and Saint George, who was the patron of wolves and hunters. Mikheil Chikovani believed this multitude of deities represented a later development of the original matriarchal myth, in which Dali was the mistress of all beasts. Particularly, he saw Ber Shishvlish as an unsuccessful replacement for Dali.\n\nSome groups in eastern Georgia viewed Apsat and Dali as siblings who each took a season in turn protecting herds of wild beasts. When Apsat was in charge of the animals, hunters were said to have an easy time making kills, but when Dali took over, she watched the animals closely, making it much harder for the hunters to bring them down. The Svaneti circle dance Metkhvar Mare praises both Dali and Apsat in these roles. In some instances, Apsat is represented as Dali's husband or son, or even her father, rather than her sibling. Tuite theorized that this partitioning of roles between the two deities was the result of Apsat being adapted into a pre-existing belief system which featured a female figure as the primary patron of game animals.\n\nAnother Georgian hunting deity, Ochopintre, is often mentioned alongside Dali. Some sources report that they worked together to herd and protect animals from hunters. In contrast, Virsaladze reports that the Khevsurian people of the Khevsureti region viewed the male Ochopintre as their primary hunting god. They had a figure called the \"forest woman\", an unnamed protector of deer, but she was treated as minor in comparison.\n\nSome sources refer to Dali being accompanied by hunting dogs, sometimes specifically the legendary black-eared hunting dog Q'ursha. However, Q'ursha is not a consistent feature of Dali stories. He is more commonly depicted accompanying male hunters, including her son, Amirani, as well as the hunter Betkil.\n\nPost-Christianization depiction \n\nAs Christianity became more prominent in Georgia, beginning with its arrival in the 3rd century, many pagan beliefs were altered or appropriated to fit Christian ideology. Dali's functions as the mistress of the hunt began to be shifted to Saint George, as in the story of the hunter Chorla. Ethnomusicologist Maka Khardziani identified Saint George's victory over Dali in the Chorla story as emblematic of the weakening of pagan beliefs in the face of Christian influence. David Hunt suggested that the story in which Dali attempts to strangle Amirani reflects a Christian rejection of the female goddess, who is reduced to a malicious and \"witch-like\" figure.\n\nDali's loss of status and power in the Christian era was reflected in altered folk practices. Prayers and sacrifices once offered to Dali were instead offered to Saint George. In the village of Tskheta in historic Lechkhumi province, hunters who encountered \"the forest woman\" could dismiss her simply by speaking George's name, confirming his power over her.\n\nVirsaladze writes that as Saint George began to eclipse Dali, she became increasingly associated with evil spirits and demonic imagery. Her character became entwined with a kind of evil spirit called the ali. The ali retained Dali's connection with hunters and high crags, but her supernatural beauty, particularly her radiant hair, was inverted into horrifying ugliness. A spell to protect travelers from the ali described her as having misplaced features, backwards limbs, a terrible visage, and \"ghastly hair, soiled with blood\". Her malicious aspects were emphasized and her patronage and protection of hunters were downplayed. Dali's favored animals, such as the wild goats and chamois she often transformed into, were used in Christian imagery to depict Satan, an evil entity who opposes God. This degraded version of Dali is sometimes depicted in the company of devils.\n\nVirsaladze and Hunt have both suggested these changes to the Dali myth are a direct consequence of the Christian church altering existing pagan beliefs to associate them with evil in an effort to discredit them. According to Virsaladze, this was not entirely successful, and belief in Dali persisted alongside Christianity, particularly in remote mountainous regions where the Christian church had less influence. One elderly man she interviewed during her research in the mid twentieth-century described Dali as both a deity and as a tormenting spirit, indicating that both versions of the myth were still extant in the modern era.\n\nMythological parallels \n\nMore than one author has discussed significant parallels between Dali and other mythological figures from other cultures with similar roles and associations. Equivalent figures to Dali appear in the mythologies of many Caucasian groups. Scholarly comparisons to various figures from Greek mythology are also prevalent, and some have argued that these similarities are a result of sustained contact between the peoples of ancient Greece and ancient Georgia. Other work has compared Dali to Near Eastern goddesses, as she shares similar motifs including dawn associations and mortal lovers. Finally, it has also been suggested that Dali represents a preserved version of a particular Western European mythological archetype of a mistress of hunting or beasts, which has become altered or corrupted in other places.\n\nCaucasian equivalents \n\nDali was important to the Svan, to the point of being their most widely-known mythological figure. Other Caucasian peoples had myths that described significantly similar deities who may be considered roughly equivalent with Dali, with regional variations. The Mingrelian people of the historical Samegrelo region, to the south of Svaneti, revered a golden-haired goddess of the hunt called Tkashi-Mapa, who scholars view as an equivalent of Dali due to the overlap in their mythological roles and associations. Both lived in the wilderness, shape-shifted into animals, took mortal lovers, and were dangerously jealous. Tuite, drawing on Chikovani's work in 1972, has proposed that the golden-haired goddess Samdzimari (\"necklace-wearer\") from northeastern Georgia served a similar, even equivalent role to Dali, though she was not explicitly a hunting deity. Samdzimari and Dali were both seductive figures associated with domestic functions who moved in inaccessible or non-civilized spaces. Each serves as the female counterpart of their respective regional version of Saint George.\n\nCaucasian cultures who worshipped a male hunting deity often had stories about a figure who served Dali's function as the \"mistress of the beasts\", but was not considered a deity. In many places this figure is known only as the \"forest woman\" or a similar descriptive title. Virsaladze regarded this figure as essentially the same as Dali. The Khevsurians, who worshipped the male Ochopintre, retained the concept of a tiny protectress of the cliffs. The Ossetians, whose primary hunting deity was Æfsati, had a forest woman. The northern Caucasian Kumyks and the inhabitants of the Lechkhumi and Guria regions each had a forest woman rather than a strong tradition of a hunting goddess. The Avar people of the northern Caucasus have stories about a \"Forest Beauty\" with golden hair like Dali. The recurring concept of a \"forest woman\" (or less frequently a \"forest man\") has been proposed as possible evidence of a common pan-Caucasian mythology that might have existed before Christianity and Islam came to the Caucasus.\n\nThe \"forest woman\" is a recurring motif in the Nart saga, a loose collection of stories from the northern Caucasus which underpins much of the mythology of the area. The Digor, an Ossetian subgroup, have a story from about a deer-herding witch who bears some similarities to Dali. Like Dali, she favors a white doe and uses her hair to bind hunters who offend her, although unlike most Dali stories, the hunters overcome the witch in the end. Other Nart saga stories involve goddesses or magical women who, like Dali, transform into deer, have glowing skin, and take hunters as lovers. Tuite has also noted that Dzerassae, a water spirit of the Nart saga, had similarities to Dali: she had golden hair and could change her shape into a fish or a deer. He cited linguist John Colarusso, who suggested there might be a link between their names based on the initial syllable, with the shift in phoneme caused by translation into Circassian.\n\nGreek mythology \n\nTuite compared Dali in her role as the mother of Amirani to the Greek Nereid Thetis, mother of Achilles. Each goddess took a mortal for a lover and bore a demi-god son. Their sons were destined to be warriors of enormous power, possibly enough to challenge the creator deity of their respective mythologies. Although extremely formidable, neither attains his full potential, and both are eventually defeated. Tuite posits that the similarity between the two myths is indicative of prehistoric contact between the ancient Greek and Caucasian peoples.\n\nClassical scholar Egbert Bakker discussed Dali as a parallel to the Greek witch-goddess Circe of Homer's Odyssey, highlighting their shared aspects: \"protection of animals, sexual predation, dawn and New Year associations\", and a \"male divine counterpart and adversary\". He went on to suggest that their similarities indicated a cultural exchange between the Georgians and the Greeks, noting that the Svan homeland is close to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Colchis, a region with close trading connections to Greece.\n\nSome sources have noted a similarity to the Greek goddess Artemis, who was also a patron of wild animals and hunting, although unlike Dali she was known for prudishness rather than promiscuity. Both were associated with transitions and boundaries, especially between civilization and the wilderness.\n\nNear Eastern goddesses \n\nWriting in the 1940s, the Georgian author Demna Shengelaya examined Dali as an equivalent of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, identifying themes of matriarchy struggling against patriarchal values reflected in the stories of each.\n\nVirsaladze found similarities between Dali and several related Near Eastern deities including Ishtar, the Phrygian goddess Cybele, Phoenician Astarte, and Carthaginian Tanit, noting that all these goddesses were associated with a mortal lover in a story cycle representing the transition to spring and the cyclical rebirth of nature. She particularly stressed the similarities between Dali and Ishtar: sovereignty over animals, an association with dawn, and a sexual aggressiveness that was feared by men. She suggested the possibility that the mythology surrounding Dali represented a preserved form of \"a very ancient cycle of traditions and songs about the interrelations of the mistress, patroness, or sovereign, of the beasts, forest, crags and waters, with a mortal young man\". According to Virsaladze, this mythological motif is a fragment of a matriarchal belief system which venerated nature and life-giving mother deities, later supplanted by patriarchal ideology.\n\nDrawing on the work of earlier writers such as Walter Burkert and Paul Friedrich, Tuite described mythological similarities between Dali and several other similar goddesses who have parallel motifs possibly indicating mutual influence. Foremost among these similarities are an association with gold (both as a color and as a precious metal), fertility and patronage of animals, seductive behavior combined with destructive jealousy, and a connection to dawn or the morning star. He refers to these similarities as the \"dawn goddess complex\". Goddesses with some or all of these features include the Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess Hausōs, and two Greek deities likely descended from her, the dawn goddess Eos and the love goddess Aphrodite. He also highlights the Sumerian goddess Inanna, and her Babylonian counterpart Ishtar as sharing these parallel motifs, despite not being derived from Hausōs. Tuite identifies the overarching themes of the dawn goddess complex as ambiguity and transition. He notes that the mythological associations of these goddesses serve as symbols for larger concepts such as transitions between night to day, old to new, and birth to death. In Dali's case, her identification with both the morning star and New Year's Eve directly reinforce her status as a patron of transitions.\n\nArchaeologist Elena Rova, drawing on Tuite's work, wrote that there appears to be evidence of the transmission of symbols and beliefs between the Mesopotamian and Georgian peoples during the Bronze Age. She described the 2014 discovery of a fragment of a decorated sandstone plaque in the Aradetis Orgora mounds on the Dedoplis Mindori archaeological site in Georgia as the basis for this speculation. The plaque, attributed to the 14th–13th centuries BCE, features a nine-pointed star similar to the eight-pointed star of Ishtar. Rova believed the star design may have been passed from Mesopotamia to Georgia through long-distance trade of the item itself or indirect memetic transmission of the design. It may then have been appropriated for use as a symbol of a local solar goddess such as Dali, possibly because some of Ishtar's features were similar enough to Dali \"for the symbol of the latter to have been consciously chosen by the local population in order to symbolise a local goddess\".\n\nWestern European figures \n\nDavid Hunt compared the hunting mythology surrounding Dali to the western European concept of the unicorn and the lady who tames it. He noted that stories of the unicorn typically focus on hunting, often in high mountains. Traditional descriptions of the unicorn include features which are characteristic of goats and deer, such as cloven hooves. In turn, hoofed animals are important prey for the hunters of the Caucasian mountains and feature heavily in their mythology. Dali's favored animals were marked in ways that make them similar to the unicorn; in particular, they were often pure white or single-horned. Finally, he found a parallel between the motif of a lady taming the unicorn and the recurring idea of a goddess or supernatural mistress who protects wild game animals. Although he admitted the evidence was \"circumstantial and sparse\", he suggested that the unicorn story originated from ancient European hunting mythology, which he believes was preserved in the mythology of the Caucasus after fading elsewhere.\n\nHilda Ellis Davidson and Anna Chaudhri found similarities between stories of Dali and the glaistig of the Scottish Highlands. The glaistig was commonly described as a hag who lived high in the mountains and protected hoofed game animals. Like Dali, the glaistig could be both helpful and malicious, depending on the story in question. Although protective of her animals, in some stories the glaistig would allow them to be hunted, as long as the hunters were respectful and left appropriate offerings to her. In other stories, the glaistig would pose as an old woman and prey on hunters staying in mountain huts called bothies. Both Dali and the glaistig use their supernaturally-strong hair as bindings; Dali binds hunters directly, while the glaistig binds hunting dogs so she can safely attack their masters.\n\nDavidson and Chaudhri concluded that Dali and the glaistig each represent a local version of an archetypal figure of a female guardian of the wilderness, which they suggested is a widespread mythological theme. Dali represents a preserved form of the myth, where the goddess retains her power and her beauty. In contrast, the glaistig represents an altered form, where the goddess has been reduced to an ugly hag and is accorded significantly less respect. They argue that similar figures who ranging from seductive to disturbing were once widespread across various European places and cultures, referencing the forest women of Scandinavia, Greek Artemis, and the Irish Cailleach. The later forms where the guardian figure is ugly or wicked represent a version that became prominent after respect for the earlier goddess figures had withered.\n\nModern legacy \n\nDali has retained cultural significance among Georgians into the modern day, particularly in more rural areas where hunting is still practiced as a profession. A survey conducted in 2013 found that, while most people who were either younger or more educated considered Dali to be mythological, many elderly hunters still thought of Dali as a real figure, although not one that any of them had personally encountered. They recounted stories to the researchers of hunters they knew who had encountered Dali and been injured or driven mad as a result.\n\nIn the modern era, eponyms and literary allusions to Dali indicate the persistence of her narrative in the cultural memory. The Dali Chasma and the Tkashi-mapa Chasma on Venus are named for Dali and her Mingrelian equivalent Tkashi-Mapa. Capra dalii, a fossil species of goat discovered in Georgia, is named for Dali. Fragments of Capra dalii fossils were first located at the Dmanisi archaeological site in 2006, and are believed to be related to the west Caucasian tur, Capra caucasica.\n\nCelebrated Georgian novelist Konstantine Gamsakhurdia wove numerous figures from Georgian folklore, including Dali, into his 1936 novel Stealing the Moon. Georgian author Grigol Robakidze integrated Dali into his German-language works, particularly the novels MegiEin georgisches Mädchen (Megi – A Georgian Girl, 1932), where Dali forms the basis of the character Ivlite, and Der Ruf der Göttin (The Call of the Goddess, 1934), based on the stories of hunters falling from cliffs because of Dali. Two poems composed after the accidental death of the famed Svan mountain climber Mikhail Khergiani in 1969 refer to Dali mourning his loss.\n\nIn 2019, the town of Lentekhi removed a figure of Dali from the design of a large fountain planned for the city's main square. The original proposal featured a statue of Dali, nude, standing atop a large rock, with three ibexes standing on the rock beneath her. Metropolitan Stephan of the Georgian Orthodox eparchy of Tsageri and Lentekhi strongly criticized the inclusion of the goddess as idolatry, although mayor Badri Liparteliani stated the change was intended to increase the fountain's efficiency and visual appeal. The final version was built without the statue of Dali, and simply features three ibexes sitting atop a rock.\n\nSee also \n\n Britomartis – Greek goddess of mountains and hunting\n Bugady Musun – Siberian animal guardian who took the form of a reindeer\n Deer Woman – seductive forest spirit whose form was partially a deer\n Devana – Slavic goddess of forests and the hunt\n Mielikki – Finnish hunting goddess who herded cows and could determine the success of a hunt\n Potnia Theron – widespread motif found in ancient art depicting a female holding two animals\n Skaði – Norse mountain goddess associated with hunting, skiing, and winter\n\nNotes\n\nCitations\n\nReferences \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\nGeorgian mythology\nAnimal goddesses\nFertility goddesses\nHunting goddesses\nMountain goddesses\nNature goddesses\nSolar goddesses"
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